We Fell In Love In A Hopeless Place
by S.H.I.E.L.D.1
Summary: Darcy Lewis hated Norway. She hated S.H.I.E.L.D. for sending her and Jane there. It was cold, and there was no Internet or cell phone reception. Jane was perfectly happy to run the experiments S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted her to day and night, but Darcy was spending far too much time playing solitaire in her pajamas.
1. Chapter 1

Darcy Lewis hated Norway. She hated S.H.I.E.L.D. for sending her and Jane there. It was cold, and there was no Internet or cell phone reception. Jane was perfectly happy to run the experiments S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted her to day and night, but Darcy was spending far too much time playing solitaire in her pajamas.

She was shuffling the cards their S.H.I.E.L.D. guard had given her while Jane scribbled furiously at her desk across the room when there was a big *BANG* from the center of the room. Darcy shrieked, and cards flew everywhere as she threw her hands up to protect her face. When the smoke cleared, there was a tall, thin man wearing a lot of green and holding a scepter with a glowing tip crouching on the ground. Darcy and Jane were too stunned to say anything as he straightened up.

The door slammed open, and their guard came barreling through shouting into his ear com. The man in green pointed the scepter at him and a blue blast hit their guard in his chest, blowing him right back out the door.

"Jane Foster." He hissed, turning towards Darcy's boss. Jane ducked under her desk, and Darcy jumped to her feet.

"Hey buddy, you need to call ahead to talk with the doc." The man didn't even look at her, and she started walking up behind him. She put her hand in her pocket, gripping her taser.

"You are coming with me, Jane Foster. We've an appointment with destiny."

"Well I keep her calendar and 'destiny' isn't in it today." Darcy said as she aimed and fired her taser. It connected with the back of his neck, and he stiffened, but didn't drop like he was supposed to. She kept her finger on the trigger, but the charge ran out too quickly.

Throwing the taser to the ground she stepped back. He turned slowly, facing her with a snarl.

"You _dare_?" He seethed.

Darcy darted to the side, dodging a blast from the scepter before she scrambled to Jane's desk, yanking her boss to her feet.

"We gotta run Jane!" Darcy yelled as they started for the door. The man appeared before them, placing a hand on both their shoulders. Bright flashing lights overtook Darcy's vision, and when she could see again, she was in a posh looking living room. Jane gasped, and Darcy shoved at the man. He dropped them both as an explosion shook the ground, and strode out to a balcony.

Iron Man touched down on his suit's landing pad a moment later, his armor looking trashed. Darcy snatched Jane's arm again and yanked her away from the two men.

"Hide!" Darcy hissed. Jane nodded, her eyes wide. They just barely made it to a hallway when Tony Stark's voice drifted down the hallway. Darcy shoved Jane through the first door they found, a little closet, closing the door quietly after her and listening to the noise from the living room intently. From behind her came the unmistakable sound of a window breaking and she started to run to the end of the hallway.

The thin man appeared at the mouth of the hallway before Darcy could find her own room to hide in, and he snatched Darcy's hair, dragging her back into the first room. Iron Man flew back up to the window, looking ready to fire, but closed his hands when he saw Darcy in front of the other guy.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded. "How'd you get in here?"

"Hey, I was in Norway till like, five minutes ago." Darcy snarked.

Iron Man looked up and muttered, "Army, right." He looked back at them.

"Loki, let her go."

"I think not."

"Brother!" Darcy nearly collapsed with relief when she heard Thor's voice. Iron Man took off straight upward, and Thor landed on the balcony.

"Lady Darcy?" Thor sounded bewildered. "Brother, what are you doing with her? Release her at once!"

"_We are not brothers_!" Loki screeched in her ear. Strange beings hooked onto giant hover boards were flying past the windows, wreaking havoc on a skyline Darcy recognized as New York. Loki wrapped his arm around her neck, forcing her to walk forward to the balcony with him. Thor watched them warily. A plane flew in to hover over the balcony, and Darcy gasped when Loki shot it down with the scepter.

Darcy twisted her head around to see his face, and he stopped once they were outside in front of Thor.

"Brother, end this madness!" Thor pleaded.

Loki looked uncertain for the first time Darcy had seen, and seeing a chance, she brought her left hand around her right shoulder and poked him in the eye. He yelled and dropped the arm around her neck to cradle his eye. She ducked down and away from Loki, crawling and scrambling as Thor lunged forward to grab his brother by the shoulders. When her glasses fell off she snatched them up, but didn't have time to put them back on before the fight caught her attention.

Loki gave an inhuman shriek of rage, and buried a blade in Thor's gut. Thor staggered back, falling, and Loki snatched Darcy around the waist before jumping off the building.

"NO!" Darcy yelped as she lost sight of Thor.

She screamed harder than she ever had in her life, clutching at Loki as they fell. One of the hover board teams caught them, and Loki shoved her down to crouch by his feet. She held on to the crossbeam in front of her with all her strength. They were going to fast that her eyes were watering, but she was too afraid to close them all the way.

Kneeling on the hover board, Darcy watched the horror unfold around them in shock. Behind them, a giant… worm… thing that had come out of the hole in the sky earlier, dropped more ugly invaders on buildings it passed. Then the board they were on flew away from it, circling high to survey the city. After about ten minutes, the grey nasty things around her started screaming, and an answering roar came from the street.

"Send the rest." Loki said, and Darcy shivered. They went lower, chasing New Yorkers to their deaths. It was the most horrifying thing Darcy could ever have imagined.

The hover board suddenly pulled up, shooting straight into the sky. Darcy's grip slipped, before a blue light enveloped the board. As she started to fall away, Loki leaned way down and grabbed her shirt by hem. It rode over her face, pulling her arms up over her head, before she was suddenly free falling. In only her bra and pajama shorts, still clutching her glasses.

Her eyes were locked on his as she fell away, his snarl of rage burned into her brain as he clutched her shirt. She broke eye contact to look down. The ground was so far away, but it was also coming up to meet her so fast.

'I'm gonna die.' She thought. 'I'm gonna die because I wanted an easy stupid six credits two damned years ago.'

Jane's face flashed through her brain, and Darcy fervently hoped she'd thought to get a better hiding spot. Darcy deliberately pictured everyone she loved (and ok, maybe her iPod was on that list but she'd just uploaded a great playlist for going to Norway!) and wished she'd made more of an effort to see her family more often.

Just as she passed next to the top of a skyscraper, a red and gold blur slammed into her rib cage, knocking all the air out of her lungs. Darcy hung limply over Iron Man's shoulder, stunned.

And then relieved.

She finally forced air into her lungs and hollered "YIPEE!". Iron Man snorted.

"Weren't you wearing a shirt last time I saw you?" He asked.

Darcy just laughed in joy as he slowed down and slid her down his front, to wrap her arms and legs around his neck and waist as he held her around the waist. He took off again, straight up this time.

"I'm not dead!" She yelled to him as the wind whipped her hair around their faces. "I'm not dead because of six stupid credits!"

"Whatever you say." He spun around and lifted one of his arms, firing at some invaders. They dropped down again towards a rooftop, and Darcy loosened her hold on him as they landed.

"Legolas, I brought you a present!" Iron man called out. For the first time, Darcy noticed a guy standing on the roof. Holding a bow and arrow. Then Iron Man blasted off and away, and 'Legolas' fired the arrow off before turning to look at her. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. Darcy crossed her arms over her ample chest and he seemed to shake himself, before tearing his eyes off her to scan the streets again. Darcy recognized him from New Mexico as one of the thugs who returned their equipment.

"Stark, presents are supposed to be wrapped. You already opened this one." He said. Darcy hoped he was wearing the ear communicators in that all the S.H.I.E.L.D. guys had, and wasn't just talking to himself. Stumbling in bare feet over the graveled rooftop, she walked up next to him.

"Actually, Loki did." Darcy told him as she slid her glasses back over her nose. "Barton, right?"

"Yup." He didn't look at her this time, carefully aiming and releasing another arrow. For once in her life, Darcy kept her mouth shut, letting him focus on saving the world and updating his team. He was doing a pretty good job of it when she looked down the building and realized there were aliens climbing it.

"Uh oh."

He glanced down where Darcy was looking before shooting the one closest to them. Before reloading he reached down to his ankle and pulled a gun out of a holster she hadn't seen and passed it to her.

Darcy let it dangle between her fingers before muttering, "Shit."

Barton raised an eyebrow without looking at her. "Problem?"

Darcy took a deep breath and passed gripped the gun with both hands. "Nope. Probably not. We'll see." She gripped the gun in her left hand and took aim without another word and shot an alien right in the face. It screamed and fell, taking two of its buddies down with it.

"Ok, no problem." Darcy said breezily. The recoil had been minimal on the gun and she felt confident with it. They fell into a pattern for the next five or so minutes, where Darcy picked off aliens coming up the face of the building and the archer tried to keep his team safe. When there was a lull, Darcy followed Barton's line of sight to see Loki chasing a woman who'd hijacked one of the hover boards.

"I got him." Barton smirked.

Barton let an arrow loose, and Darcy groaned when Loki caught it. She turned to face Barton just in time to see him grin. When there was an explosion behind her, she watched in horror as Loki was launched back into Stark Tower.

"Shit!" Darcy yelled. "Jane's in there!"

The giant green dude jumped onto the balcony and knocked Loki in through the window. When the green dude followed Loki through Darcy nearly lost her mind.

"I have to get over there!" She yelped as she scrambled away from Barton. He reached out and snagged the strap of her bra, stopping her forward momentum and breaking the strap from the top of the cup.

"Hey!" She yelled at him. He ignored her and tugged her back to his side with his new leash. A series of explosions ripped through the city to their right. She saw a squadron headed their way, and guessed they'd finally figured out where the arrows raining from the sky were coming from.

"Hold on to me." He ordered as he drew a new arrow out. Darcy obediently wrapped her arms around his neck, and he sort of fell off the roof, turning them so that he was on the bottom, pulling his bow taut around her. Darcy was too scared to make a noise, as he shot what turned out to be a grappling hook and swung them through a window. He landed below her, wincing as he was dragged over the broken glass. She was flung away from him, rolling away about five feet, her stomach and forearms and knees nearly shredded on the glass. They both lay still a moment, stunned. He recovered first, turning over and assessing her before pushing up to his feet. Darcy sat up as well.

"Hold on, stay there. You're not wearing any shoes." He crunched over to her fallen, magically unbroken glasses before coming back to her. He slipped them onto her face before getting an arm under her knees and behind her shoulders.

"How're we getting to the tower?" Darcy demanded as he lifted her.

"_We_!?" He stopped walking before they were clear of the glass. "_You_ are going to hide and _I_ am going to…" His voice trailed off as he listened in to his earpiece. Darcy started wiggling and he tightened his grip on her with a glare. Abruptly, he turned and walked back to the window. They watched together in silence as Iron Man and a missile shot up and into the portal. Darcy wrapped her arms tight around Barton's neck as they waited for him to come back. Aliens started dropping dead in the streets and people were cheering, but they stayed quiet, watching the portal. She was close enough now to hear someone say "Close it." into Barton's ear.

Then just as the portal closed, Iron Man fell back out! Darcy gasped and a grin spread across her face. Barton's arms clutched her closer to his chest when Iron Man had dropped out of their sight behind some buildings.

"Come on, come on." He muttered, listening intently. Darcy heard a roar from Iron Man's general direction.

"Yes!" Barton exclaimed. "He's alive." Darcy looked away from the window to his face, more open and happy than she'd ever seen it and leaned up to press a big, sloppy kiss onto his cheek. He grinned down at her.

"Now can we go meet everyone at the tower?" She pleaded. He nodded, smile fading.

"Let's get you some clothes first though. Don't wanna start a riot on the streets just now."

They were in an office building, and lucked out with the third cubicle they searched. A gym bag had been left behind, and Darcy pulled a man's (clean, he must have meant to go to the gym after work.) t-shirt over her head. His running shoes were miles too big on her, but Darcy wanted to get over to the tower as fast as she could. She did take the time to leave the guy a note explaining that his clothes would be at Stark Tower if he wanted them back.

Barton set a fast pace, and she struggled to keep up as she stumbled in her borrowed running shoes. The men of the team had assembled at the bottom of the tower, and Thor was overjoyed to see Darcy.

"Lady Darcy! I am quite pleased to see you well!" He swept her up in an exuberant hug, and she patted him on the shoulder.

"Jane was in the Tower, Thor. We gotta get up there now."

"How the hell many people are in my house?" Stark demanded. Thor ignored him, swinging mew-mew in circles before taking off, up to the balcony. She managed to keep the shoes on for about ten feet before they fell off. Stark yelled from below them, so she guessed the shoes had hit him. A green blur passed them, and when they landed on the balcony Darcy scrambled free of Thor. He followed the green dude towards the bar and Darcy ran to the closet she'd left Jane in.

Wrenching the door open, she was greeted by Jane's pale face. Her boss's eyes were wide open and she couldn't seem to stop shaking. Darcy grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.

"Are you ok!?" Darcy yelled at Jane.

Jane's hands came up and clutched at Darcy's shoulders, and then they were hugging and babbling nonsense at each other. They broke apart, breathing hard, and Jane looked Darcy over.

"You're bleeding! And wearing a different shirt. Um. You're kinda… lopsided too." Darcy looked down her front. It was pretty easy to tell that one of her straps was gone.

"One of those S.H.I.E.L.D. guys from New Mexico broke my bra." Jane covered her mouth and looked scandalized. Darcy turned away and saw the team posing in front of Loki, and started walking over. Loki pulled himself halfway up, leaning heavily on the bar.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll take that drink now."

Darcy strode right past all of the superheroes and grabbed Loki by the neck. Her lips twisted into a snarl, and her right knee snapped up. Loki's eyes bugged out of his head and he fell forward, cradling his genitals and groaning as Darcy stepped back. The redheaded woman and Barton burst out laughing and Stark sucked in air over his teeth, looking empathetically pained. Thor walked away and embraced Jane.

Barton put away the bow and ruthlessly yanked Loki's hands behind him. Darcy stood awkwardly to the side, not really sure what to do now that the adrenaline was dying down. While Barton hogtied Loki, a tall blond guy who looked a lot like Captain America came to stand next to her. He held out a hand, and Darcy was delighted to see her borrowed running shoes dangling from his hand.

"You uh, dropped these miss." Darcy took them with a big grin.

"Thanks, they're my favorite pair of shoes." That earned her a weird look.

"Hawkeye said you stole them from an office building."

"Hawkeye?" The blond nodded to Barton, who was standing over Loki with the redhead.

"Ah. Well I never said they were _my_ shoes. They're just my _favorite_ shoes." The blond chuckled and extended his right hand.

"Steve Rodgers, ma'am. Nice to meet you."

"Darcy Lewis. You know you're dressed like Captain America?" He shuffled uncomfortably.

"You're Captain America, aren't you? That's awesome!" Steve Rodgers was saved from further conversation by Tony Stark making his way over to the two of them after touring the disaster zone that apparently used to be his home.

"How'd you get here kid?" He asked, sounding dumbfounded. "And why the hell is Thor making out with a woman you pulled out of my closet?"


	2. Chapter 2

S.H.I.E.L.D. came and took Jane, Darcy and Loki away to an aircraft carrier. Captain America promised to meet them there, but first the team had something to do.

Darcy was brought to the medical bay, while Jane was hauled off somewhere else to be interviewed. The hospital area was full of people hurt much worse than she was, so she was tossed onto a bed and left to her own devices for about forty minutes. She sat cross-legged against the top of the bed twiddling her thumbs, finally closing her eyes after about twenty minutes.

She must have fallen asleep, because she missed the rustle of the curtain getting pulled back. She opened her eyes when the bed dipped under someone else's weight though. Barton was sitting in front of her, looking exhausted. She gave him a tired smile. He returned it, and dropped a white take out box on her lap. Darcy's eyes widened at the smell.

"Thanks." Her voice was rough with sleep. She cleared her throat before opening the box and peering at the ground meat and spices inside. "Wow. Jane and I have been on a strict Poptart only diet the last couple of days. This looks _great_."

"That can't be healthy."

"We were in Norway. Do you even know what those people eat? Freaking everything was pickled. There were pickled sheep brains in the airport. _Sheep brains_." Barton's smile got a little bigger.

"You know," Darcy continued. "I'm at a disadvantage here. You know like, everything about me. And I only know your last name. If that's even your real last name. Captain America called you Hawkeye, too."

"Clint Barton. Hawkeye's my codename. And I don't know everything about you, just what I heard about in New Mexico. Spunky girl, armed with a taser."

"Clint. I like it." They sat in silence for a little while after that, while she nibbled at the food.

A doctor and two nurses pushed the curtain open. Clint stood, but Darcy put her hand on his forearm.

"You can stay. They're here to pull glass out of you too, right?" He looked very uncertain.

"You've already seen everything, buddy. Please?" Darcy really didn't want to be alone right now. He nodded and sat back down, further towards the foot of the bed as she swung her feet off the bed. One nurse started pulling glass out of her knees, and the doctor went behind them to examine the cuts in Clint's neck and biceps. The other nurse took their temperatures and blood pressure.

When everything was out of her knees, and they were cleaned and bandaged, the nurse started on her forearms. They weren't as banged up as her knees had been, and when they were done she endured a tetanus shot in her upper arm. Clint kept his eyes forward as her borrowed shirt was tugged up. It was coated in blood, and stuck to her skin, so it took a while to get it off her. The nurse paused when the shirt came up past her bra. Darcy looked sadly at the formerly white t-shirt as it was balled up and tossed on a tray.

"Doctor? You need to look at this." The nurse said. Clint chanced a look and his eyes got a little wider.

"What?" Darcy asked.

The doctor ran his hand lightly over her sternum, frowning.

"Where did all this bruising come from?"

Clint leaned over to get a better look, without her boobs in the way.

"Jesus, did I do that?" He sounded horrified.

Darcy put her hand to the spot they were looking at.

"No, I think this is from Iron Man catching me over his shoulder." She used her pointer fingers to trace out her fall and catch in the air. "I fell off of a hover board and Iron Man caught me flying perpendicular to me."

The doctor probed the area a little more firmly. "I'm not feeling anything broken, and our x-rays are booked solid for the next few hours." He turned to Clint. "You let us know if you think she needs to come back in." Clint nodded, frowning. The cuts on her stomach were cleaned and bandaged, and her ribs were wrapped. Now that the bruises had been brought to her attention, they were starting to ache, and she gratefully accepted the shot of morphine they offered.

They left to get her a bottle of painkillers, and when they came back Clint left a nurse with her while he hunted down a shirt for her. It took him about 15 minutes, and the shirt he came back with was clearly his. Darcy stood and put it on, amused that it fell to mid-thigh on her. The shoulders came down to the middle of her biceps – he had nice, broad shoulders. The stolen shirt was bagged up and passed to her, and she grabbed her food as Clint led her out of the room. He paused when they hit the hallway.

"You mind going to my quarters?" He asked.

"Nope. I'm still hungry, so anywhere's good. Can we let Jane know where I am?"

"Sure." He took a phone out of his pocket and typed quickly on it before nodding to Darcy. He led her down a hall, down an elevator, and down another hall before opening a door and stepping into a tiny room. It was only a bedroom and tiny bathroom, and it was immaculately clean.

"Kinda small." Darcy observed. "I thought you were pretty important here." Clint flashed her a small smile.

"I am. If I weren't I'd be sharing this room with three other guys and there wouldn't be a private bathroom."

"Yikes."

Darcy's head was swimming with the morphine, and Clint settled her on his bed before heading back to the bathroom. She dug in to the food while she waited for him to come back out, moaning as the spices exploded across her tongue.

Clint came back out of the bathroom shirtless and looking a little cleaner. He shook his head at her before opening his closet and taking out a black t-shirt.

"What?" She asked around a mouthful of ground meat.

"We all had some of that before we came aboard, it wasn't moan-worthy."

The drugs were loosening Darcy's tongue, and she swallowed her mouthful of food.

"I was in gymnastics till I was 15. My mom and my coaches were always watching what I ate, especially once we got serious about the Olympics. Now that I can eat whatever the hell I want, it really, I dunno. I enjoy it." Clint was tugging the shirt on, so she couldn't see his face before she went back to eating. If he'd been about to say anything, his ringing phone interrupted it.

"Barton. Uh huh. Yes, I've got her in my quarters, sir." Darcy was ignoring him, until he paused for a long time, before asking, "I'm sorry, what?" She turned to see him reach up and rub his forehead. "Yes sir, I understand." He hung up without saying goodbye and met her eyes.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"You were, ah, caught on film today." He said grimly. "With Iron Man."

"Oh. _Oh_. Like, without a shirt and hanging on to him?"

"Exactly like that."

"On TV?"

He just nodded. Darcy looked down at her lap sadly.

"I'm out of food." She mourned. Then her head snapped up sharply. "Oh, crap, I'm on TV, I have to call my Mom." Clint passed her his phone, and it took her a couple of tries to get her mother's number right.

"DARCY?!" Her Mom yelled through the phone.

"Mom. Mom." Darcy said, and her Mom started sobbing.

"I'm ok Mom." Darcy just repeated that, over and over until her Mom calmed down a little.

"What the HELL were you doing there? You said you and Foster were going out of the country!"

"Uh. We changed plans at the last minute?" Clint held his hand out, clearly wanting the phone. Darcy put her take out box in his hand instead, holding her index finger up to ask for another minute to deal with her mom. He tossed it into a trashcan and leaned back.

"How could you not tell me?" Her Mom demanded hotly. "Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

Wow, just like her mother to go from happy she was alive to angry at her. Yeesh.

"I lost my phone. I didn't have it on me when… uh… whatever the hell that was started." She gripped the phone tightly, feeling uncomfortable and unsure of how or what to tell her.

Clint leaned over and wrestled the phone from her. "Mrs. Lewis, hello, this is Nurse Barton. Your daughter was lightly injured, and she's going to recover just fine, but she needs her rest and other patients need the phones to call their family members too." He paused and Darcy heard her mother's indignant squawking on the other end of the line. "Alright, Mrs. Lewis, I'm going to pass you back to her to say goodbye." He handed the phone over again.

"Darcy, I'll come get you. I'll be there by morning."

"No Mom, I'll be fine. Don't drive here, please."

"Well what the hell do you want me to do then? Leave you to rot while I waste away worrying about you?"

"I'm not going to rot Mom. I'll call you again when I can."

Her mother hung up without another word, and Darcy handed the phone back with the familiar disappointment that she felt every time she spoke to her Mom weighing her down.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"No problem."

Clint settled onto the floor, back against the wall and legs relaxed straight out in front of him, and Darcy drowsed on the bed, letting the morphine make her problems seem small. She wasn't sure what they were waiting for exactly, but it was really nice to decompress away from the madness outside the door.

At least it was, until alarms started sounding, piercing her mellow, and flashing lights had her squinting. Clint launched himself to his feet, quickly making his way to the bathroom, only to reappear wearing his filthy uniform top.

"Stay here. Keep the phone, call-" He quickly flipped through his contacts and chose one before pressing the phone into Darcy's hand. "this number if you need help. Natasha will take care of you." He fitted a com into his ear and disappeared out the door. Darcy sat on the edge of the bed, ready to move if she had to, nervously looking back and forth from the phone to the door.

When she was looking down at the phone, a flash of green appeared between Darcy and the door. She jumped, looking up in time to see Loki lunging at her. She threw herself back with a loud shriek, mashing her thumb onto the call button before Loki viciously backhanded her right cheek, sending her glasses flying across the covers. The phone tumbled from her grasp, onto the floor and then Loki was straddling her. Her hands came up to protect her face and she curled onto her side. Loki was snarling and growling, and he yanked her hair with both hands to pull her face around to him.

"You ruined _everything_!" He screamed into her face, spraying spit all over her. He'd clearly come unhinged, and Darcy lashed out at him with her left hand. He took her punch to his nose without flinching or reacting at all, and as he continued to jerk her head around by her hair she pulled air into her lungs with a gasp, and screamed louder than she ever had in her life.

"_Shut up_!" He shrieked at her. Her hair was released, but then his hands came down and closed over her throat, cutting her scream short. Guttural noises came from her throat as she scrabbled at his hands, trying to hurt him enough to make him let go. It wasn't working, and black spots were dancing in her eyes as he started shaking her back and forth screaming words that she couldn't understand over the roaring in her ears.

As Darcy' s vision started to fade completely to black, he abruptly let go. Her hearing came back to her, and she realized there were other people in the room, all of them yelling. Loki snatched the hair over her forehead into his fist and brought her face up to within inches of his.

"You're going to pay for this." He hissed at her, and then he abruptly disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

Darcy fell back, breathing in huge gasps that heaved her chest. Clint's worried face appeared over her, and he ran gentle fingers over her neck. He pulled back when she flinched violently.

Hauling herself up off her back, she groped frantically for her glasses, stunned that they were yet again in one piece. When they were on she looked around the small room. The redheaded woman from earlier was holstering a gun, and Tony Stark was next to her with only the gauntlets of his suit on. Clint was crouched next to her, keeping his distance, as she slowly raised her hands to her throat.

"This is Romonoff. Loki rabbited." She paused to listen. "I copy."

Stark walked back out into the hall and called "Banner!". A bland looking brown haired man replaced Stark. He looked very uncomfortable but relaxed when he saw her, and Clint shifted to the side to give him room to crouch down in front of her.

"Hey, there." The new guy started. His voice was soft, nearly hypnotic. "My name's Bruce. I'm a doctor. May I see your throat?" Darcy just stared at him, keeping her hands over her neck.

"I want to see if there's anything I can do for you, that's all. You know Hawkeye here, right? Would he let me hurt you?" Darcy turned to look at Clint.

"He's good." Clint affirmed. Darcy let her hands fall to her lap. Clint flicked his eyes down to her neck before moving them back up to her face. The doctor hummed and brought a hand up.

"May I touch your neck?" He asked. "I see some cuts I'm going to have to clean and bandage."

Darcy's lips trembled, and tears started running down her cheeks. She folded over her knees as far as her rib bandages would allow and pressed her face into her hands. It hurt too much to sob, so she just moaned. A hand started patting her knee, and she got herself back under control pretty quickly. When she looked up, the redhead had disappeared and Clint was offering her a hand towel. She mopped her face before nodding at the doctor. There was now a first aid kit in his lap, probably courtesy of Clint, and he flicked it open to pull out an alcohol swab.

"Now, this might sting, I'm sorry about that." And he talked to her the whole time he was cleaning and bandaging her neck, and it helped keep her fear at bay. She clutched at the blanket below her, and was very relieved when he pulled back.

"Can you try to talk for me?" Bruce asked. "It might hurt, but I need you to try."

Darcy took a deep breath. "What…" She licked her lips and tried for a second word. Her voice was pitched several registers deeper than normal. "Hap…pened?" Bruce hummed.

"Alright, good, you should avoid speaking for a few days but it doesn't seem like there will be permanent damage."

"Loki got loose. S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to question him and someone turned their back for just a little too long." Clint told her.

"Blamed… Me." Tony Stark walked in just as she was saying that.

"Alright people, we're ready to move out."

Darcy looked to Clint, trying to ask him a question with just her eyes.

"Stark's offering to house the Avengers, Dr. Foster, and you until we neutralize Loki."

Stark passed her a phone with a hologram display, and what she typed was visible to everyone.

*Tower's broke. That can't be safe.*

"We're going to go to my Mother's mansion. It's right on 5th. We'll have someone with you 24/7 till we can figure out a barrier set specifically to him."

Darcy nodded, and Bruce helped her to stand. Clint passed her a jacket with a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the biceps. When she zipped it up, all the men in the room paused to examine her legs. The shirt and jacket were long enough that they covered her pajama shorts, making her appear pantsless. Clint passed her a pair of pajama pants and motioned to the bathroom. Darcy took them quietly and shut the door behind her. The waist was way too big, but she hiked them up high and tied a bow in the front. The legs were miles too long, but she rolled the cuffs up over her ankles. When she came out, Clint was holding a duffel bag and Stark was looking impatient. Clint took her pajama bottoms and tossed them over the top of his duffel bag.

Bruce and Stark left the room first, and Clint followed her out. Captain America was leaning on the wall across from the door looking grim, but when he saw her he smiled supportively. He was folded into a loose formation around her, and they walked quietly to the elevator.

The elevator stopped on a floor Darcy hadn't seen before. It looked like command central, with computers everywhere and busy looking people scurrying around the room. Thor and Jane were waiting by a door. When Jane saw Darcy, she sagged against Thor, who caught her with the most troubled look she'd ever seen on his face. A hush fell over the room as they entered it fully, with nearly everyone craning their necks to see their group. Stark started walking faster, and Darcy was grateful to leave the room quickly.

Thor held the door open and they walked out onto the runway. The sun was starting to set, the lights glowing oddly in the dust over Manhattan. They walked up to some kind of plane that looked more like an arrow than an airplane, but Darcy remembered seeing a few of them in New Mexico. This one had a Stark logo on it, instead of a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, and he walked through the plane to the cockpit, where the redheaded woman was already at the controls. Stark dropped into the second pilots seat, pulling on a headset and the rest of them arranged themselves in the seats.

The flight was short, since they were in the New York bay already. They landed in a hanger built into the third floor of the mansion, and Pepper Potts was waiting by a door. Stark was off the plane faster than anyone, and it felt intrusive to see him and Pepper kiss passionately. This must have been the first time they'd seen each other since the big battle. Captain America cleared his throat, and Pepper broke away from Stark.

"How about we do the tour tomorrow morning?" Stark suggested, never taking his eyes off Pepper Potts once.

"At least show us our rooms, Tony." Bruce sounded exasperated. Darcy was nearly asleep on her feet as Stark waved them through the door. The descended some stairs, to the second level.

"Anyone's welcome to any room they want other than my suite, kitchen's on the first floor, ask Jarvis if you need anything." And with that, he dragged Pepper Potts away. The rest of them milled around the hall nervously.

"Who's Jarvis?" Jane asked finally.

"That would be me, miss." A disembodied voice spoke. "I am Mister Stark's AI assistant." Darcy jumped about a mile, putting her hand over her heart. Clint heaved a deep sigh and disappeared around a corner and down the hall. They heard a door open and close, and he reappeared soon after with a t-shirt in his hand. He pressed it into Darcy's hands, along with her pajama shorts.

"Natasha and I are going to recon the mansion. I'll look in on you when we're done."

Darcy nodded and he turned away. The redhead – Natasha – followed him, and they went back up the stairs. Captain America turned to Darcy, looking her up and down.

"Let's get you to bed." He said. Any other day, Darcy would have razzed him about his wording, but right now she just nodded. She was guided down the same way Hawkeye had gone, and chose the room across from his. Captain America approved, because it was in the center of the building, deciding Jane would take the room next to it, leaving the Avengers sleeping in the rooms that ringed the outside walls of the mansion.

Darcy's room was bigger than anything she'd had in a long time, and came with a long leather couch, matching large armchair, and a flat screen TV mounted to the wall. Captain America and Bruce followed her in.

Bruce told her he'd be by in a few hours with another dose of morphine – her throat would keep her from being able to swallow the pills she'd been given anyway, and she wasn't sure where they were. He helped her into bed after she'd visited the bathroom and changed shirts and ditched her bra. When he disappeared, Captain America was shuffling awkwardly by the couch.

"Miss Lewis, someone, ah, needs to stay here with you. I'd like to sleep on your couch… If that's alright with you."

Darcy grabbed the phone from the nightstand. *Thank you.*

He blew out a sigh of relief and settled on the couch just as Clint came back in.

"You gonna take first shift, Cap?" The captain nodded, and Clint crouched down next to her bed.

"I'm right across the hall. You need something from me, let me know."

*Thanks. For everything.* Clint shook his head.

"I haven't done much. Look at you…" He trailed off, looking frustrated.

*Not. Your. Fault. None of it.* He started to turn from her and she reached out and grabbed his collar, forcing him to look at her. Her words floated between them, and she was looking straight into his eyes, trying to burn her earnestness into his brain. Finally he tugged himself loose of her grip and left without another word. Darcy got the feeling that he thought he knew better than her, and knew he was still blaming himself for so many things.

Darcy finally wriggled out of the pajama pants, tossing them over the side of the bed as she settled into the pillows. The house was quiet when she finally drifted off to sleep, Captain America's even breathing a soothing reminder that she wasn't alone.

There were flashes, in her dreams, of her day, of her childhood, of New Mexico. Then it all became more solid, and felt real, and she was chained across a big rock, buck ass naked. It was cold, so cold that she couldn't stop shivering. Loki shimmered into existence in front of her, and she yanked at the chains around her wrists, uselessly trying to cover herself.

"I've learned more about you, Darcy Lewis." He hissed at her. "But not as much as I will know about you." He stepped close, running a deceptively gentle palm over her face, and his hand felt like ice. "I'm going to burrow into your mind and dig up everything that terrifies you." And with that, he plunged his fingers straight into her brain through the sides of her head.

She couldn't scream, couldn't make a single noise, but the pain was incredible. He was ripping through her memories, and it felt like her brain was being shredded. Then he paused, and she was dragged into the memory he was watching.

Alone in the gym, she lightly jumped onto the low bar, swinging gently, before dropping down and walking back to her starting position. This time she launched herself at the low bar, swinging around it once before making the transition to the high bar. She used her momentum to get herself up into a handstand, pausing with her body in a perfect line, toes pointed and looking down to see Loki standing underneath her with a sick grin. She eased down and twirled around the bar once, flipping her hands so she turned a tight circle when she reached the zenith.

"Again." Loki commanded, and she did. She twirled around that bar as the sick feeling of terror, settled into her stomach. She knew what was coming, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Loki was prolonging her torture, making her repeat the same move that came before disaster over and over and over again, before he said,

"Now."

She released and executed a perfect back flip off the high bar, catching the low bar in a handstand. The whole apparatus came down around her – the bar snapped off it moorings, and the supports came down under it. Her fingers were trapped between the metal and the bar, and she felt them break. Her wrist shattered into a million pieces. Her elbow hyper-extended and snapped the wrong way with a stomach churning crunch, at the same time her shoulder popped out of its socket. The searing agony cut through Loki's control of her, and she started screaming and screaming and screaming…

"Darcy, Darcy, Darcy." Someone was shaking her, and she was still trying to scream through her ravaged throat when she opened her eyes. Clint and Captain America were next to her bed, and she reached out for Clint, who took her hands as tears dripped from her eyes.

Clint's eyes widened, and he freed his right hand to run up her arm.

"Shit, you're freezing cold Darcy. What happened?" He pulled down the blankets, running his hand down her leg. She moaned – his hand felt like it was burning hot against her leg.

"Cap, get Thor. This isn't normal." The captain disappeared quickly, and Clint pulled her up to sit on the side of the bed. He was rubbing her biceps while she stared at her right arm, stunned it wasn't destroyed in real life. It had hurt so badly…

Bruce came through the door, looking unusually rumpled, followed by Natasha who looked perfectly awake, aware, and put together. Bruce touched the back of his hand to her cheek, arm, and chest before shaking his head.

"Let's get her in the shower. Can you help, Agent Romonoff?"

"Natasha, please." Said that woman as she helped Clint get Darcy to her feet. Bruce disappeared into the bathroom and the shower turned on a second later. Natasha walked Darcy into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Clint in the room alone. Natasha stripped her with ruthless efficiency and shoved her into the shower. It was so hot it hurt, and she tried to get back out.

"No, no, Darcy, you have to stay in there." Bruce said, holding onto her shoulder. Her tears started falling harder and Darcy pushed at him. Natasha grabbed her hands, seemingly not caring that her shirt was getting wet.

As the warmth penetrated her skin, her struggles grew weaker, before her knees gave out and she sank to the ground. Natasha released her, and Darcy huddled under the spray. Bruce was kneeling next to her, keeping an eye on her.

"Can we make it warmer Darcy?" He asked. "It's only lukewarm right now." Darcy whimpered.

"Shh, it's ok, we'll give it another minute first." Bruce was murmuring nonsense to her again, just like he had earlier. After a few minutes, she nodded to Bruce and he ticked the temperature up minutely. The process was repeated for about twenty minutes, before Bruce decided she was warm enough and shut the water off, bundling her into a giant, warm, fluffy towel. Natasha disappeared briefly before returning with the pajama pants and some warm socks. Her ribs were re-bandaged and her cuts re-covered before she was stuffed back into Clint's clothes.

Thor and Jane were in her room when she came back out. Thor was, for once in his life, conversing quietly, with Clint and a sleepy looking Tony Stark. They all looked over at her when she came left the bathroom, faces grim. Jane's eyes were wide, and her face pale as she swept Darcy up into a hug, either not noticing or ignoring Darcy's flinch, babbling into her shoulder.

Bruce pried Jane off of Darcy, before steering Darcy back to her bed. She was wrapped in the blankets Captain America had been using, which were still warm, and handed her glasses and the phone.

"Lady Darcy, what exactly happened?" Thor asked.

*Dreamed about Loki. He put his fingers in my head. Made me remember bad things. It hurt.* She settled further into the blankets.

"I am aggrieved to say this, Lady Darcy, but I sense my brother's magic in this chamber, and your lowered temperature is indicative of the Frost Giants he was borne of. I suspect he was intervening in your dreams."

*Said he'd dig out everything that scares me. I think he did. He read my mind.*

Clint surprised everyone by lashing out. He kicked the nightstand so hard it fell over, making Darcy jump.

"Barton." Barked Captain America from the door. "Out. Cool off."

Clint left without looking at anyone. Darcy was left with the rest of the Avengers and Jane, who was weeping quietly. Captain America came and sat next to Darcy on the bed.

"Thor, was he actually here?" He asked.

"No, this was a remote magic. He was not on the grounds."

"What could keep it from happening again?"

Thor shifted uncomfortably, darting a look at Jane before meeting the Captain's eyes. "I believe he would not attempt such a thing again if I were near Lady Darcy as she rests."

Jane came and sat next to Darcy, not weepy anymore, but shaking.

"Darcy, what did he do to you?"

Darcy felt all the blood drain from her face, and she leaned away from Jane. Jane's eyes got bigger and the tears started again.

"Oh honey, oh honey…" Jane reached for Darcy again, but Natasha put a hand on her arm, frowning. Jane hardly noticed, headed towards full-blown hysteria.

Stark rubbed his face, trying to wipe away his exhaustion. "Ok. Ok. Foster, out."

"_What_?" Jane shrilly demanded, jerking out of Natasha's grip.

"You're not helping. You're freaking out more than the kid, and she's the victim here."

Jane blustered for a moment before flouncing out of the room. Darcy flinched when she heard the door next to hers slam shut.

"Ok, Jarvis. Any anomalous readings in the room before Miss Lewis started screaming?"

"Yes, sir, there were several."

"Bruce, I just converted my Dad's lab for my own use in the basement. Join me down there when you get everything settled here?"

*I'm not sleeping for the rest of the night* Darcy warned the doctor.

"Want to join Tony and I in the lab?" Bruce offered, glancing at Captain America. Darcy nodded.

*I'm a good lab gopher.*

"Well, let's get you that next shot of morphine and we'll see." Darcy held out her arm without complaint as Bruce pulled the needle out of the same case he'd gotten the bandages out of. Natasha disappeared and came back with some fuzzy slippers that fit Darcy, and disappeared again before Stark could finish asking,

"Where did those come from?" All four men left in the room were eying Darcy's feet as she slid them on.

"Does the Black Widow wear fuzzy slippers?" Stark continued. "What am I even seeing?" Darcy smiled for the first time since they reached the mansion, and immediately suspected that's what Natasha had been after.

"Steve, why don't you shower and go to bed?" Bruce suggested softly as Darcy straightened to her feet. "Tony and I have this, and we'll call Thor if we need to." The captain nodded, and Darcy could see how tired he was. As he left, Natasha came back with Clint's jacket, silencing Stark with a look before draping it over Darcy's shoulders.

"Point Break, how about you go find your lady friend?" Stark suggested as he led Darcy, Bruce, and Natasha out of the room. There was no comment from Thor, but Jane's door opened and closed quietly behind them.

As they headed down the grand staircase, the morphine started making Darcy's head swim nicely again. By the time they'd reached a shiny new lab, Darcy's problems were starting to seem insignificant again.

Bruce settled Darcy in a chair at a lab bench, fussing over her a little while Stark booted up some computers. Natasha leaned against a corner, keeping her eyes moving over everything. Stark and Bruce started talking Science!, playing with readings from Darcy's room.

"Ok, we're going to separate this into two projects." Stark declared. "The easier will be using this to find the bastard." Bruce hummed in agreement, flicking some numbers from one hologram to another.

"Jarvis, let S.H.I.E.L.D. know we need to the same network of labs to keep their spectrometers on the roofs. We'll send them the new tracking algorithm soon."

"Of course, Dr. Banner."

"Now," Stark pulled up something else on a hologram. "this is the shielding in my suits. If we can tweak it to deflect this power signature, we can enlarge it to encompass the house. Maybe make a personal one for Miss Lewis too."

Darcy picked up the phone and typed, *You can call me Darcy, you know.* Stark glanced over but he was too far away to read it.

"Jarvis, give me what she types over here."

"Of course, sir."

"Ah, well, in that case, call me Tony." Darcy gave him a smile that was a little loopy.

*If you have a shield around the house and I have shield is that like condoms and having two actually makes holes in them?* Tony burst out laughing, and Bruce grinned.

"No, it shouldn't make any holes. It shouldn't even be necessary, but if he physically breaches the house somehow, it should keep you safe." Bruce explained. "And we'll make the personal one first so that you can get some rest while we install the big shield."

The two scientists worked well together, and Darcy watched them move around the lab and each other, fascinated by their ease. The way they operated was totally different from Jane. Darcy couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was that was different (and maybe that was the morphine confusing her) but she found she liked this dynamic a lot.

After maybe two hours of watching and listening, Darcy's stomach growled. The two scientists didn't notice until Natasha pushed off the wall and helped Darcy stand.

"We're going to go to the kitchen."

Tony scooped a small gadget off a counter and tossed it to Natasha. It was passed to Darcy.

"Panic button."

Darcy nodded and tucked it into the jacket pocket before Natasha touched her arm, leading her from the room.

When they were in the elevator, Natasha spoke.

"Jarvis. Don't forward Darcy's messages to Tony for now."

"Indeed, Agent Romonoff."

Natasha didn't say anything more, until they stepped off the elevator on the main floor. Darcy was guided through the dark to the kitchen, and then the hand on her arm disappeared. A jolt of fear stabbed Darcy's heart, and her hand flashed out to the wall, groping for a light switch. The light came on before she found a switch.


	4. Chapter 4

Clint was sitting at a table in the middle of the kitchen with a glass of water in front of him and Natasha was nowhere to be found.

Darcy just blinked rapidly at him, trying to get her frightened breathing back under control. When she had, she walked over and took the seat across from him. His water glass must have been fascinating, because he couldn't seem to take his eyes off it. Finally, Darcy couldn't stand the quiet anymore and took out the phone.

*Tony and Bruce are really nice.*

He dragged his eyes from his glass to see her message and grunted.

*Where'd Natasha go?*

That got her a bitter snort.

"She doesn't want me 'brooding', so she threw you in like a virgin sacrifice." He informed her.

*Actually, she told me she was going to feed me, so maybe you're the one who got thrown in.*

Clint's lips twitched in spite of himself, and he heaved himself to his feet to inspect the cupboards before Darcy could catch him smiling. He held up a box of macaroni and cheese for her inspection.

*Characters?* she asked. He checked the box.

"SpongeBob." He confirmed. Darcy gave him a bright smile and he turned away to the stove. He kept himself at the counter and stove the whole fifteen minutes it took to make. When it was in the bowl, and everything had been meticulously put away and wiped down, he finally came back to the table, dropping the bowl and a spoon in front of her as he sat down.

Darcy dug in, suddenly aware she was starving. It was about three in the morning, hours after the food she'd had on the ship. Swallowing was difficult, but the pasta was soft and the warmth in her stomach made it worthwhile to finish the whole bowl. With a satisfied groan, she settled back and gave Clint a sleepy smile. Wrinkles appeared around his mouth as he tried to suppress his smile.

*Can we go back down to the lab?* Clint nodded and stood. He waited for Darcy to catch up at the door, and led her down the dark hall. On an impulse, she reached out and grabbed a fistful of the back of his t-shirt. The disbelieving look he threw over his shoulder made her chest shake with silent laughter, and he shook his head but didn't make her let go.

When they were standing in the elevator, Darcy let her head rest between his shoulder blades and closed her eyes.

"Want me to find Thor so you can get some sleep?" Clint asked softly. Darcy shook her head no. Even if Thor was around to keep Loki out of her head, she was afraid of the nightmares she figured were coming.

Before they walked into the lab, Clint reached back and broke her hold on his shirt, taking her hand in his.

"I've got an image to maintain." He whispered before tugging her into the room.

Darcy and Clint stopped short when they saw the scientists. Tony looked up and blinked at the two before opening his mouth.

"Hey, weren't you with Romonoff when you left?"

Darcy kept her grip on Clint's hand and texted one handed.

*Dude, what happened to your face?*

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "We generated a simulation of Loki's energy. It took a couple of tries to get it right."

His face and hair were covered in soot, and Bruce didn't look much better, though most of the grunge was on his arms.

"Is it safe to have her in here if you two are blowing yourselves up?" Clint asked, already trying to herd Darcy back out the door. She planted her feet and pushed back against him.

"What? Yeah, of course she'll be fine." Tony sounded distracted. Bruce turned and gave them his full attention.

"She'll be fine here. We did our testing while she was gone, now we're just assembling parts."

Darcy walked around Clint, dragging him over to the chair she'd been in before. He settled her back into the seat, fussing with the jacket she was wearing before moving to stand behind her. They spent the next few hours watching quietly. Clint never wavered, rarely shifted his weight, and Darcy was reassured by his presence, though in the back of her mind she knew it was selfish to keep him here. The man had been perfectly content to brood in the dark before she'd shown up, and she suspected he had a lot of things he needed to brood through.

At seven in the morning, she watched Bruce shoot their simulation of Loki's power at Tony, who grinned broadly when it dissipated off his shield. Bruce took it from him and carefully explained it to both Clint and Darcy. Darcy noticed an almost envious look on Clint's face.

Tony wanted to continue working, to secure the mansion, but Bruce shut him down. Clint took Darcy's hand and they all left the lab, locking it behind them. The elevator ride was silent, and Tony looked as though he'd suddenly realized just how exhausted he was. He disappeared as soon as the arrived on the second floor.

"Hold on Darcy, you're due for another morphine shot. Should help you sleep well as well." Bruce motioned them to wait in between their bedroom doors, and disappeared through his door.

Clint waited patiently, and Darcy fidgeted, unsure how to phrase what she wanted. Bruce came back and gave her the shot before stumbling right off to bed, and Clint started to lead Darcy back to her room.

*Wait, wait, can I? I don't want to sleep in the dark. There's no windows.* She typed. Clint cocked an eyebrow. *Can I bunk with you? We'll keep the shield in the middle of the bed, he won't be able to touch either of us.*

Clint grimaced. "Darcy, I'm not going to… sleep well. I'm going to have nightmares, and it's not going to be pretty." Darcy deflated a little. There was no way she was going to sleep alone, in _that_ room, but she wouldn't shoehorn herself in where she wasn't wanted either. She turned to go through her bedroom door but was stopped by his hand on her shoulder.

"Can you stay on one side of the bed?" Darcy held her breath and nodded. "You can't touch me if I'm dreaming. I might hurt you."

Darcy couldn't imagine him hurting her, but nodded again.

He heaved a huge sigh and grumbled, "I can't believe I'm doing this…" before tugging her back and through his door, closing it behind them.

The curtains were open and the room was filled with a soft morning light. The bed was massive and piled with pillows. Darcy hit the bathroom first, using the mouthwash she found by the sink before washing her hands. When she opened the door, Clint tossed her one of his tank tops and disappeared into the bathroom himself. She tossed everything but her underwear into a laundry basket in the closet and dropped the tank top over her head. It came down as far as her nightgowns, so she felt fine without the pajama shorts that were across the hallway. She was standing at the end of the bed examining the palm-sized shield in her hand when Clint came back into the room, wearing only a pair of pajama pants.

"Which side do you want?" He asked. Darcy shrugged at him. He put her on the side closest to the bathroom, and when she'd settled the phone, panic button, and her glasses on the nightstand he crawled in next to her. They turned on the shield and put it in the middle of the bed. It flashed blue around the bed once, before vanishing from view. Darcy turned onto her left side facing away from him, wrapping her arms and right leg around a nice, long, firm pillow. Clint was still moving around trying to get comfortable when she dropped into a dead sleep.

She surfaced from her deep sleep briefly, a little later, to find that while she hadn't moved from her spot on the bed, Clint had wrapped himself around her from behind. His right arm circled from her rib cage up to her left shoulder, his left arm was under her pillow but not her head, and his right leg was hitched over her hip. His face was pressed into the top of her head, his breath shifting her hair with every exhale. She was surrounded and pinned down, and it felt wonderful. Darcy dropped back off to sleep easily, feeling more content than she could remember in a long, long time.

When they finally roused themselves, it was past one in the afternoon. Darcy was awakened by Clint rolling away from her. When she was fully awake, she realized that her injuries hurt worse than they had the day before. Her whole chest ached, and her throat throbbed as her veins pulsed under her bruises. Clint looked at her grimace of pain, and disappeared into the hallway, coming back quickly with Bruce. Darcy hauled herself up to sit on the side of the bed, and Bruce walked over with a friendly smile. Clint went into the bathroom and the shower started up as Bruce started running his hand over her sternum.

"I'm betting everything hurts worse today." Bruce murmured. Darcy gave a small affirmative bob of her head. "Pepper and Jane stocked your bathroom this morning. How about we take off your rib bandages, let you shower, and then redo them and give you another shot after you eat." A shower sounded so good. Bruce helped her to her feet and walked her across the hall.

Darcy was surprised to find all of her toiletry brands in the bathroom – all of them. The right deodorant, and toothpaste, and shampoo and conditioner just to name a few. They were all brand new containers, and Darcy was uncomfortable with how much it must have cost and surprised that Jane would notice what Darcy had in their shared bathroom. Still, she took a heavenly shower, taking time to let her shea butter shower gel sink into her skin while her conditioner worked magic in her hair. The warm water loosened her tight muscles, though she knew that it wasn't helping the bruising.

When she finally got out, reaching the top of her head to towel off the water was way too painful, let alone brushing it. Leaving her hair wet and in a bun, she opened the door a crack to see Bruce waiting on the bed. He stood quickly, and passed a short-sleeved button up shirt that belonged to him and her pajama shorts through to her. She dressed as quickly as she could, lamenting her lack of clean underwear. Luckily, with the boxers on and the shirt tucked under her breasts and held behind her, she was finally covered while Bruce worked on her. It was a dumb thing to be happy about, after the man had held her in a shower the night before, but she was. Before she could button the shirt up, he pulled a woman's tank top out of his pocket and passed it to her, leaving her alone to put it on. Wearing other people's clothes all the time seriously sucked but with Loki on the loose, she figured getting Jane's and hers' stuff from Norway wasn't high on anyone's priority list.

"Well hello there!" Pepper chirped cheerfully as Bruce led her down the stairs. Darcy smiled as she was ushered into the kitchen. Pepper had followed them and gotten a container out of the refrigerator that she popped into the microwave. While it was heating, Pepper went back down the hall to the living room and came back with an armful of catalogues.

Darcy looked down interestedly as they were spread out in front of her – Nordstrom, Victoria's Secret, Neiman Marcus, and Gap were a few that caught her eye.

"You're going to need some clothes of your own, so go ahead and order anything you want. Tony's paying, so have fun." Pepper turned away as the microwave beeped, pulling the container out and stirring it with a spoon. She sat down next to Darcy, sliding what turned out to be split pea soup in front of her. Darcy pulled the phone out of the front pocket of her shirt, only to have Pepper take it from her.

A tablet was produced from the bottom of the stack of catalogues, and passed to Darcy.

"Here, Tony had this delivered from R&D at the Tower this morning. It's a StarkSlate, fresh out of the lab and it's all yours." Darcy's eyes got wide.

"Too… much." She rasped, trying to push it back to Pepper. Bruce looked at her sharply from where he stood at the sink. Pepper looked surprised, but didn't accept the tablet back.

"Sweetie, I think Tony was really affected by what he saw last night. That and he likes being generous to the people around him." Natasha came in and went up to Bruce, turning to watch the scene unfolding before them.

Darcy stood. "Thanks… But… No." She didn't want pity, and she didn't want Tony's money just thrown at her. It wasn't going to help her feel better and she didn't want to be any more in his debt than she was, staying in his home, eating his food, and using a shield he'd made just for her. She could get by with other people's clothes until her own things got brought over, hopefully with her debit card.

When she turned to leave, Tony Stark was blocking her path out of the kitchen.

"This isn't pity." Darcy shook her head and tried to go around him. "Lewis. Look at me." Darcy met his eyes angrily.

"I heard about you after the New Mexico business. Coulson…" Tony's voice broke a little and everyone winced but Darcy. "Coulson talked about you. Thought you'd be a good fit in a few years to replace Pepper when I made her CEO." Darcy's mind went blank. "I want you to stick around. I like what I've seen of you so far, you've got a steadier head on your shoulders than anyone could have expected after a day like yesterday."

"Also, you're a target all on your own now." Natasha said from behind her. "He's not putting you in the crosshairs just by hiring you. It's a load off his conscience."

"So, the StarkSlate is a part of an employment offer. You become Tony's new babysitter, and it comes with the job, along with a clothing allowance." Pepper said evenly.

"Hey now, not babysitter. Grown man here." His words contrasted with the ridiculous pout on his face. No one laughed.

"Jane?" Darcy asked.

"Darcy, use the phone or the tablet please." Bruce chided. Darcy backtracked and held her hand out for the phone. Pepper handed it over.

*Jane and I have been together a long time. I can't just leave her.*

"I was going to offer Foster space in the tower, now that Point Break is going to be around." Tony said. "You'll still see her, but I think you're ready for the big leagues kid."

Darcy saw one more barrier to this new job. *I have physical limitations, Tony.* She showed him and Pepper the surgical scars on her wrist and elbow. *I can't type. Not won't, or haven't learned how, I just can't do that to my wrist. No heavy lifting either.*

Tony examined them closely before nodding. "Jarvis already transcribes for me. How have you been getting through school?"

*Dictation. Recently, an app that lets me type in documents from my iPod.*

"I don't see a problem then. How'd you get those?"

Darcy looked over at Natasha, who she figured had already read it in her file. *Gymnastics.*

Pepper gasped. "Oh. Oh, you're _that_ Darcy Lewis?" Darcy took a deep breath and nodded. Tony looked at Pepper questioningly, but Darcy interrupted, not wanting to talk about it.

*Can I talk to Jane? Take time to think about it?*

"Of course." Pepper said.

"How about you eat?" Bruce suggested. "You don't have to decide today, and you look like you could use the pain meds." Darcy narrowed her eyes.

*I'll hold off on the morphine till I talk to Jane.* She sat down and started on the soup. Natasha sat down opposite from her, picking up a catalogue and flipping though it.

"Sir, there is a delivery at the gate for you." Jarvis said.

Tony pointed at Bruce. "That's a present for you, big guy." Bruce raised his eyebrow.

"I ordered them when I heard S.H.E.I.L.D. brought you in. They're one of the ways I'm gonna persuade you to stay here." And then Tony was gone, gleefully cackling all the way down the hallway.

Bruce cut his eyes to Pepper. "Do I want to know?"

"I have no idea what he's got. But no, you probably don't want to know." Bruce ran a hand through his hair before shaking his head.

Darcy left quietly, taking only the phone. She walked slowly upstairs, really starting to feel the pain in her neck and sternum. But she pushed through it, and soon was knocking on Jane's door.

Jane answered it quickly, and Darcy smiled hopefully at her.

"Hey Darcy." Jane seemed subdued, which was odd, but not unwelcome after the previous night.

*Hey Doc, do you have a few minutes? Can I talk to you about something?*

"Sure, sure, come on in." Darcy walked into a room that was a mirror image of hers next door.

Deciding to just get it over with, Darcy didn't sit down. *Tony offered me a job as his assistant, when this whole mess is over.*

Jane's back stiffened, and something dark crossed her face. "And you want it."

*Kinda, yeah. I can't be your lab gopher forever. This could be a good career. Even if it doesn't work out, it'll look great on my resume.* Jane closed her eyes and let her shoulders slump.

"Yeah, it would. I don't like Stark, and I really don't like seeing you hurt." Jane shifted her weight and met Darcy's eyes. "You really freaked me out last night. You came through New Mexico like a champ, snarking the whole time. I still can't… You just looked so, lost, Darcy. Stark's a target. This could happen again."

Darcy shrugged. *I'm a target too, now. This could be safer than cutting loose from S.H.I.E.L.D. completely.* Jane nodded and looked resigned.

*Tony said he wanted to set you up with a lab in his tower. If you take it, you'd get new flunkies and I'd see you pretty often.*

"I'll think about it."

Darcy nodded and left. There wasn't anything more to say.


	5. Chapter 5

Darcy was comfortably nestled onto the couch after taking the morphine, playing with her new tablet while Natasha read the newspaper when Tony stormed up to them. He threw her catalogues onto the coffee table and pointed a finger at her in her face.

"You're getting more than 80 bucks worth of clothes." He said firmly. Darcy just blinked at him.

*I really just need a few things to tide me over till we can get my stuff from Norway and home.*

"That could be a while. Order more things."

*Natasha said cotton dresses are easy to put on when your ribs are hurt.*

"Then get cotton dresses that cost more than six dollars. How the hell did a catalogue that cheap get into my house anyways?" Darcy shrugged. Natasha rolled her eyes. Tony pointed to himself and said "Billionaire. I'm not having my new assistant wear cheap shit."

*Most of my clothes come from thrift stores.* Tony theatrically gasped and grasped at his chest.

"Well no more Lewis. Either shape up or I'll have Pepper dress you." He threatened. Darcy rolled her eyes at him and looked over at Natasha questioningly.

"Yes, yes, I'll help." Natasha grumbled. Tony stuck around as they pored over the swanky catalogues on the table, occasionally adding his own opinions, which were ignored. They found more expensive, but better constructed versions of the dresses Darcy had picked out from H&M in the Neiman Marcus book, a few jeans and tops she could wear when she was feeling better, and sweaters to try and mask the fact that she'd be going bra-less for a few days (though with her boobs, no one would be fooled). She refused to budge on the Vans she'd ordered, but did order more in different patterns.

"Alright, it's a start." Tony said grudgingly. "Now what about underwear?" Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. He dropped a Victoria's Secret catalogue into Darcy's lap. "Go ahead and give that to Pepper when you're done, if it's too embarrassing to give to me."

*It's not embarrassing, it's just… wrong to have your boss know what your underwear looks like.*

Natasha picked up a MAC makeup catalogue from the table as well. "Stark, you go get those things ordered, and we'll bring these to Pepper when we're done." She made a shoo-ing motion with her hands, and Tony left.

Since Darcy always got her underwear from Victoria's Secret it was very easy to find the underwear sets she wanted, and she decided to get some nightgowns as well. They didn't have that stupid empress waistline that most nightgowns have, and they looked too comfy to pass up. More time was spent on the makeup, which Darcy would be delighted to have, and Natasha snuck in a few orders for herself.

By the time dinner had rolled around, Darcy had a full closet of clean clothes, gladly giving Bruce back his shirt in favor of a brown cotton sun dress and a sweater. She hadn't seen Clint since he'd gotten in the shower that afternoon, and she figured he had settled into that brooding she'd interrupted the night before. Everyone else was looking a little better rested, though little lines of tension were around everyone's eyes.

After they ate, Tony, Bruce, the Cap, and Thor scattered around the grounds placing the shields while Darcy, Jane, Pepper and Natasha sat in the garden talking. When a blue light flashed once, arcing between the fence lining the property, before disappearing, they all cheered. The boys joined the women, looking more relaxed than Darcy had ever seen them, and Tony broke out a bottle of wine. Darcy got a shot of morphine instead of a drink, and they all had a great time telling stories and letting loose in general.

They split up around midnight. Pepper and Tony were the first to go. Pepper dragged her boyfriend upstairs after whispering something in his ear. It didn't take a genius to figure out the gist what she'd whispered, when they saw the lecherous grin that lit up Tony's face. The rest of them drifted upstairs slowly, unused to the idea of regular sleeping hours after chaos had reigned for so long. Or had it only been a couple of days? Bruce walked Darcy to her door, standing in the hall awkwardly with her.

"If you still need… I mean, if you want… I'd be happy to stay on your couch tonight. If it'll help you." He fumbled for words. Darcy wasn't actually planning on sleeping that night, knowing that there were nightmares waiting for her in an empty bed and dark room. She was rescued from having to turn him down when the door across from hers opened.

"I've got it Dr. Banner." Clint said shortly. "Grab your clothes, Darce." Darcy smiled apologetically at Bruce before slipping into her room. She grabbed a change of underwear and her new nightgown after washing her face and brushing her teeth. Clint was standing in his doorway braced to one side with his right hand on the doorframe, seemingly in a staring contest with Bruce when Darcy opened her door again.

Darcy stopped to kiss Bruce on the cheek before ducking under Clint's arm.

"'Night Darcy." Bruce called softly as Clint closed the door. When she turned around, Clint motioned to the bathroom. He'd already changed into his sleep pants before opening the door, so Darcy went to change.

After putting on the nightgown and bundling her clothes up, she stopped to really look at herself in the mirror. Feeling a little ridiculous, especially with the bruises still dotting her cheek, she primped, fixing her flyaway hair and bit her lips to redden them. She really liked Clint, but clearly neither of them was in a good place to start a… relationship? She'd been interested in him in New Mexico. He was quiet where she was boisterous, but before he'd had to leave with Erik he'd started to relax with her, joke a little when they talked in the lab.

She was startled out of her reminiscing by the cover of the shower vent shooting out of the ceiling, clanging loudly on the tile floor. To her absolute horror, a long, hairy, segmented leg followed it out of the vent.

"Darcy?" Clint called. "Everything okay in there?" Darcy lunged for the door, whimpering, as a MASSIVE spider fell to the floor. It was about 3 feet wide, with the body making up about a foot of that length. Clint forced the door from his side at the same time she yanked at it, and she collided with his chest. The startled look on his face would have been hilarious any other time, but right now he was in between her and the other room. He recovered before the spider reached her, wrapping an arm around her waist and tossing her behind him. Darcy landed on her feet, dancing backwards, but not too far from Clint as she tried to fight her panic.

A deluge of creative curses came from the bathroom, and she could hear him batting at the spider with his hands.

"Ooooooh, crap crap crap!" Darcy muttered. She snatched her new StarkSlate off the bed and raced back to the bathroom. Raising the tablet to shoulder level, she lashed out and knocked the giant tarantula off Clint's bare stomach.

It landed on the floor with its legs in a ball for a millisecond before it was up and sprinting at her. Darcy dropped the tablet and moaned in fear as she backed away quickly. Without looking away from the spider, she bent her knees and leapt up onto the armchair behind her, landing with a foot on each arm and her fists tucked under her chin. She closed her eyes, expecting it to reach her at any second before **BANG BANG BANG**!

She opened one eye, then the other when she saw Clint standing in the doorway holding a gun pointed at the spider. Both of them were breathing hard when the Cap slammed the door open, brandishing his shield. Natasha followed him through in a crouch, holding a gun with two hands. They both stopped short, staring at the spider carcass on the floor between them.

"Barton?" Cap asked sounding dumbfounded.

Then the spider _screamed_ and Darcy tensed up again as one of its legs unfolded before Clint and Natasha emptied their guns into it.

When the shooting was over, the spider lay still again. There was confused yelling in the hallway, and Natasha and the Captain stepped inside to let Bruce, Thor, and Tony spill into the room. The room was blessedly silent as they all stared at the dead spider.

"Whoops." Tony said, breaking the quiet. "Sorry big guy, you weren't supposed to see those till your birthday."

"Stark… My birthday's in November."

The spider screamed again, pushing all of its legs out, and Clint snatched the shield from Captain America and threw it down on the spider before jumping up and down in it with a grimly determined expression on his face.

"_Those? Plural?_" Natasha demanded, her voice a little higher than usual as the spider was obliterated beneath something Darcy was reasonably certain was a national treasure. Captain America was looking queasy as he watched.

"Ok Barton, I think you killed it. What happened?" the Captain asked when he couldn't watch any longer. Clint stepped out of the shield and lifted it so that they could all see that it had been squished into pieces and seemed to have exploded spider goo all over the carpet.

"It came out of the vent." Darcy whispered. She wasn't willing to climb off the chair just yet to get the phone, and her throat was feeling much better than it had that morning.

"Stark. Plural." Natasha repeated.

"Yeah, yeah, there are six of them." Tony looked down at the mess on the carpet. "Five, I mean." Darcy shuddered.

Pepper peeked around the doorframe, eyes wide and face pale. "Is it Loki?" She asked.

"No," Natasha grumped. Pepper gave a sigh of relief.

"Jarvis, buddy, tell me the rest of them are still in the lab." Tony begged.

"I would, sir, but you deliberately programmed me with the inability to tell you a falsehood."

Tony cursed and Jane joined Pepper.

"What happened?" Jane whispered. Pepper shrugged.

"Stark here has unleashed mutant spiders on the mansion." Bruce said dryly. His eyes had settled on Darcy, still standing on the chair arms wearing only her nightgown. Captain America followed Bruce's line of sight and flushed a deep red. Jane disappeared and came back with a silk robe she tossed across the room to Darcy, who slipped it on quietly. Clint was eyeing the ceiling speculatively. Darcy wondered if he had x-ray vision and could see into the vents over their heads.

"They're not mutants, they're gamma irradiated." Stark protested. That gave everyone pause.

"You brought… spider-Hulks into this house?!" Pepper started softly but ended shrieking.

"Yeah, there's a lab in Montana that'll expose them and send them out to order." Tony explained earnestly.

Clint walked away from the spider and pulled another gun out of the nightstand, pointedly ignoring everyone else in the room. He walked over to Darcy and put his shoulder at her hips and grabbed her around the backs of her thighs. When he stood up straight, Darcy found herself hanging over his shoulder and headed towards the door butt-first.

"You." Clint said, Darcy assumed to Tony. "Fix it. We'll be across the hall." The crowd must have parted for him, 'cause they passed through the door and Darcy waved at everyone before they reached her room and Clint turned around and closed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Darcy was dropped on her bed and Clint moved away. As she pulled herself up to sit cross legged at the foot of the bed, he moved to the bathroom, closing the door after a quick check of it with his gun drawn. He had Jarvis lock it for him, just in case. Clint came back to the bed and made sure she saw him lay the gun on the nightstand. The shield was turned on and placed on the headboard as Clint eyed the bed like it was a puzzle.

"You always sleep on your left side?" He asked. Darcy nodded and leaned over to show him her right arm. His eyebrows raised as he reached out to trace the scars from her wrist up to her shoulder.

"This why you quit gymnastics when you were 15?" He asked. Darcy nodded again. He hummed, and didn't push for the story, and she didn't offer. He let her stay between him and the bathroom, reasonably certain that the spiders couldn't open closed and locked doors. Darcy smiled when he wrapped himself around her again, this time while they were both awake. Jarvis lowered the lights, but didn't turn them off completely, and she and Clint lay in silence, adjusting to the quiet.

Darcy drifted off to sleep first, while Clint brushed the backs of his fingers gently up and down her forearm.

Only to be rudely awakened soon after by odd noises coming from the ceiling. When her eyes opened, Clint already had the gun in his hand and was shaking her awake with his other hand.

Before she could ask what the hell was happening, there was a muffled explosion and flash of light through ceiling that had Clint cursing. There were thumps and blue winks of light from all around her ceiling that weirdly reminded Darcy of pinball machine without the bells and whistles as Clint got her up on her feet and headed to the door. When Iron Man came crashing through the ceiling about two feet from them, she was thrown to the floor with Clint on top of her, trying to shield her.

"What. The. Fuck. Stark." Clint groaned. Another spider slipped out through the hole Iron Man had left, and Tony rolled over and fired on it, disintegrating it before it landed on him, at the same time destroying more of the ceiling, which came crashing down around them.

Thor broke the door down and came through with Captain America close behind him. Clint rolled off of Darcy when all the dust had settled, laying flat on his back with his eyes closed. He looked a little like he was counting to ten in an effort not to lose his temper.

Darcy sat up and looked around before a little snort of laughter bubbled up from her chest. When the Captain gave her a disbelieving look, the giggles really started, and she then couldn't seem to stop. Clint gave her a good stink eye when he cracked an eye open, making her laugh even harder.

"You are a lunatic." Clint informed her. "I thought so in New Mexico, but now I know for sure."

Darcy brought her hands up to wipe at her eyes and grinned broadly at him. When she finally got herself under control Clint pulled himself up to his feet and raided her dresser drawers, pulling out another nightgown before moving to the bathroom. He came back with her shower gel and conditioner and stood in front of her.

"Come on." He said, offering a hand. "We're going to bunk with Nat." After Darcy was on her feet she was pushed onto the door that was flat on the ground, and Clint turned around and pointed at Tony. "Destroy Nat's room or let a spider in there and I'll sit back and watch her gut you." He turned to Thor. "That goes for you too." Thor nodded gravely. They left before Tony could say anything, following Natasha through the crowd in the hall to the room kitty corner from Clint's room. Natasha grimaced at the trail of plaster that followed the two of them into her room but didn't say anything as Clint disappeared into the bathroom, still armed.

He showered quickly, coming back out only in boxer briefs, which made Darcy's mouth go dry. Natasha pushed her through into the bathroom and followed her.

"Um?" Darcy questioned when Natasha closed the door behind herself.

"Can't have you get this far just to get eaten by a spider." Natasha said, sitting on the counter and letting a gun dangle from her hand between her knees. Natasha locked her gaze on the shower vent, giving Darcy just a little bit of privacy as she got into the shower. Once the grit was off her skin, Darcy let the water run through her hair, conditioned it, and then rinsed again. When she turned off the water, a towel came flying over the top of the shower wall.

"Can you braid my hair?" Darcy called to Natasha as she dried off.

"Ask Barton." Came the uninterested answer. "He does a good French braid."

"Oh, ok."

Natasha passed her nightclothes through to her and ushered her out into the room. Jarvis locked the bathroom again as Darcy approached Clint with a comb and hair band in her hand. He was already sitting on the edge of the bed, and pushed her down to sit in front of him, between his bare legs. He must have heard Natasha, because he dried and braided her hair without a word. When he was done he tugged her up and in front of him.

Natasha was already under the covers, facing the bathroom, when Clint pulled her face first against his chest. Darcy settled her arm over his waist as their legs tangled and he pressed his face into the top of her head, drawing in a deep breath and holding it. When he let it out, she felt most of his muscles relax, and followed him into sleep.

All too soon, she was woken by Clint climbing over her to get off the bed. The sun was barely up, and she groaned as he pressed her down into the mattress.

"Come on princess, Nat and I have to go work out and you have to come with us."

"Nuh uh." Darcy wasn't a great debater in the mornings. Clint grabbed her by the waist and put her on her feet. She blinked up at him, indignant, and clutching a pillow to her chest.

"Stark doesn't have all the spiders yet. I'm not leaving you up here."

Darcy threw the pillow at him, and he caught it with a smile on his face.

Seeing no way out of it, Darcy heaved a sigh and turned to walk out ahead of him. He disappeared into his room and she carefully walked into her room, which looked like a bomb had gone off in it. Having just showered a few hours ago, she dropped her nightgown in the hamper and pulled a dress over her head. The phone, panic button, and shield were put in her sweater pockets just as Clint opened her door, wearing sweatpants and a tank top with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on them. He was holding her tablet, which had been left on the floor of his room the night before. Darcy grabbed her glasses from the nightstand and followed him to the elevator.

Her muscles ached fiercely that morning, but speaking was much less painful than it had been. Her voice was still rough, and she had to swallow every few words, but she was glad not to need to use the stupid phone anymore. They entered a gym in the first level of the basement, and Darcy walked straight to some stacked mats, sitting down with the tablet on her knees.

"What, you're not going to join us?" Natasha teased. She was already stretching in a ring in the middle of the room, waiting for Clint to join her.

"Not a chance." Darcy said firmly.

There was a long silence from the two assassins, and Darcy looked up from the tablet to find them both staring at her.

"It wouldn't hurt to teach you some things, once your ribs are healed up." Clint offered.

"Yeah, it could." Darcy said. "My wrist is held together by pins and a prayer Clint. I can't have it broken when Loki comes for me. I managed fine the other day without super secret agent training."

Natasha shrugged in a way that made Darcy suspicious the subject wasn't dropped before she rolled to her feet. Clint still looked troubled, but then Natasha knocked him flat on his back and they started their sparring. Darcy watched for a little while with interest (mostly she was interested in Clint's bare, flexing, sweaty arms… yum!) before forcing herself to focus on the tablet again.

Without any real work to do yet Darcy ended up surfing pictures of cute animals. It was enough to occupy her for about an hour while Clint and Natasha worked out, before a finger tapping on her shoulder took her focus from a video of a French Bulldog puppy trying to stand up. Pepper was standing in front of her, wearing short jean shorts and a black button up blouse, exuding authority even in her leisure clothes.

"Hey Darcy, I heard about Tony destroying your room last night. You're okay, right?"

"Well it's his house, so it's not really a big deal."

"It is a big deal. He'll be finding you to apologize later today."

"Clint was a little more upset than I was." Darcy pointed out.

Pepper shook her head. "Maybe this was my fault. I should have caught him before he got into the vents…" It sounded more like Pepper was talking to herself, in front of Darcy.

"I hope this doesn't scare you off the job." Pepper continued, focusing on Darcy again. "You'll probably see him try that kind of thing again."

"She might just encourage him." Clint grunted from where he was straining against Natasha. "She thought it was hilarious."

Pepper gave her a horrified look.

"In my defense, I'd had some morphine like, two hours before that."

"Now tell us if you would have laughed if you were sober." Natasha demanded dryly.

Darcy's giggle was answer enough, and Pepper reached up to massage her own temples.

"Darcy, I need you to be the sane one." Pepper groaned.

"Hey, I can make him eat, and force him to do paperwork and run him out of his lab when he has a meeting. I never promised not to laugh when he falls down." Pepper cracked a small smile at that.

"He almost fell ON YOU." Clint grunted, finally flipping Natasha away from him.

"Well actually, he almost fell on you." Darcy observed.

"That suit must weigh five hundred pounds or more." Clint said, turning to face Darcy and Pepper. "You'd have felt it if he landed on us."

Darcy shrugged. "If and maybes." She said offhandedly. "What's done is done." Natasha shook her head disapprovingly, but Darcy patted Pepper on the shoulder.

"I'm hungry." Darcy announced, standing up and heading for the door, effectively ending further conversation.

When she reached the elevator, the rest of them had followed her and crowded in when the car arrived.

"Tony has a press conference today." Pepper started. "And I was hoping you could go with him." Darcy arched an eyebrow at her. "It's not a part of your official duties." Pepper soothed. "But with that picture making the rounds on all the tabloids…"

"Me topless hanging on to Iron Man?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah, that'd be the one." Pepper sighed. They left the elevator and headed for the kitchen.

"Sure, I guess." Darcy said. "You just want me to say I'm not sleeping with him, right?"

"As close to the truth as you can get." Pepper said.

"I told my Mom Jane and I were here to be interviewed to be hired."

"Perfect. That puts you in New York, and then the rest of it falls into place without making it look like you have knowledge of the Avengers."

"Yeah, I can probably do it then." Darcy agreed. "What time?"

"This afternoon. Probably?"

"My ribs still hurt. Bruce might dope me a little too strong for cameras."

Pepper clucked her tongue. "We'll put you on the press release tentatively then. Don't worry if you can't make it today."

Darcy nodded and started exploring the cabinets in the kitchen. Oatmeal sounded good, and she pulled the cylindrical package out of the cupboard only to have it plucked out of her hand.

Bruce pressed a mug of tea into her left hand and a pill into her right hand. "Vicodin. If you're talking, I'd like you to move to pills."

Darcy favored him with a bright smile. "Oh, hello, good morning Doc. Did you sleep well? Isn't it a pretty day?"

Pepper giggled and Clint snorted inelegantly.

Bruce gave her a crooked, self-deprecating smile. "Good morning Darcy, I hope it finds you well." He said formally with a funny stiff bow. He grabbed a pot and eyeballed the right amount of water to make what would turn out to be a full stockpot of oatmeal.

Darcy took a mouthful of tea and swallowed the pill. It took a few tries to choke it down, but Darcy was oddly proud when it slid down her throat. Her arms had started to feel like pincushions from all the shots she'd gotten. She sat at the table in between Clint and Natasha, with Pepper directly across from her.

"Am I gonna have to wear a bra?" Darcy asked Pepper. The other woman's eyebrows rocketed up towards her hairline, and Natasha shook with silent laughter next to her. Darcy sighed.

"I guess that's a yes." She groused.

"I'd be fine if you went without." Tony called from the doorway. "The reporters would forget all about me." He walked over to Bruce at the stove and inspected the pot on the stove. Darcy hid her smile from Pepper by taking a sip of her tea.

"We can put some padding in your wraps before you get dressed." Bruce offered. "It should be fine since your bruises aren't on the sides of your ribs."

Pepper's mouth formed a little 'O' of understanding. "Oh, I didn't think of that. You know you don't have to do this today, if you're not feeling up to it."

Darcy shook her head. "Naw, better to get it over with." Pepper looked skeptical.

"That's the spirit." Tony declared.

"Shouldn't you be spider hunting?" Clint asked Tony.

"Rodgers and Thor are after the last one. I'm eating and then joining them."

Curiosity got the better of Darcy. "Why'd you get spider-Hulks to begin with?"

"Banner here studies gamma radiation. I wanted goodies to keep him here and working for me instead of running off to third-world-istan when the fighting was over." Tony reached a finger into the pot, hissing in pain when he scooped out some oatmeal. He stuck his finger in his mouth.

Bruce shook his head and stirred the pot. "I told you why I can't stay, Tony."

"That was before you knew about the spiders though."

"Those are a horror show, not an incentive to stay in New York."

"They weren't that big when they came in. Admit it, you'd have wanted to study them if they'd stayed in their box."

Bruce didn't say anything, and Tony smirked. The food was distributed and they were all quietly eating when a big BOOM! came from below the kitchen.

"Stark! Stark! We've got it pinned by a leg under the hammer!" Captain America's voice through Jarvis' speaker system.

Tony ignored him, bringing his spoon to his mouth again. Pepper knocked it out of his hand and pointed at the door.

"Go kill it _right now_!"

"Sheesh, it's not like it's going anywhere." Tony grumbled as he pushed back from the table.

"Well, if all the spiders are dealt with, I really need to pee." Darcy announced as she stood up. She went back up to her room and showered too. Bruce was waiting when she got out to wrap her ribs with gauze for extra padding and helped her get the straps over her shoulders before retreating to his own room.

She went with another dress and sweater combo and went downstairs to hang out in the living room until the press conference. Captain America was already there, sprawled out in an armchair with his eyes closed. Darcy was horrified to see his face and arms covered in cuts and bandages.

"Oh, no." She said softly, announcing herself as she walked up to him. His eyes opened as she bent over in front of him. He let her reach out and trace a cut on his arm. "What happened?"

"The spiders cut us up with their legs." He brought his hand up to a jagged slice over his cheekbone. "They bit, too."

"Jeez." Darcy breathed. He shrugged. Darcy backed off, sitting on a couch with her legs curled up beneath herself.

"What are you doing for the rest of the day, Cap?"

"Please, call me Steve. We're getting ready for that press conference, I think."

"I guess that'll be something familiar to you, after, y'know, all that press you did in World War II."

Steve grimaced. "I won't be talking to anyone. I'll be backstage as extra security." Darcy nodded. He closed his eyes again, and Darcy quietly amused herself with the tablet until Pepper came and got her. She was coached on what to say by Pepper and Natasha for an hour, before they were convinced she wouldn't embarrass the company or reveal classified secrets.

There were a limo and a flashy little hardtop black sports car in the driveway when Pepper led Darcy outside. They stood blinking in the bright light for a minute, before Clint and Natasha walked around them to the sports car.

"See you there!" Darcy called. Clint turned to face Darcy with his hand on the driver's side door.

"You'll see Natasha, but you won't see me." Darcy nodded, and the two of them drove away.

The door to the limo popped open and Tony stuck his head out. "You two coming or what?"


	7. Chapter 7

Darcy was feeling a little overwhelmed as they all lined up at a long table at the front of the room. The mayor of New York was there, and the police chief. People involved in security for Stark Industries. Tony flipping Stark and Pepper Potts. She wondered what she was even doing there.

The lights above them were bright and hot, and the constant camera flashes were unnerving. She stayed quiet as questions were launched from the reporters whose faces she couldn't see clearly, impressed by how relaxed Tony and Pepper were. When questions about her came up, Pepper jumped in and answered for her, so all Darcy had to do was nod in agreement. Darcy was starting to feel more comfortable after about fifteen minutes like that.

At least until one voice won over the others in the din.

"ARE YOU FUCKING HIM?!" Everyone paused and turned to look at the man, and the room fell quiet.

"Whoa." Tony muttered, blinking in surprise. As Darcy tried to find the man in the crowd, she caught sight of Natasha's red hair moving from the wall to the center of the room.

"Are you fucking him Darcy?" The guy asked again.

"Get him out of here." Pepper ordered, her face hard. The guy shoved his way to nearly the front of the crowd, letting Darcy get a good look at him. She knew that rat face, and those pale irises that didn't touch the edge of his eyes had haunted her dreams for years.

"Oh, crap." Darcy blurted.

"I saw the photos Darcy. You're fucking him. You're a whore, just like I always knew you were."

"What part of restraining order do you not get?" Darcy demanded rhetorically. The man's upper lip curled. Tony leaned forward next to her, dipping his shoulder to put himself a little in front of her.

"A piece of paper can't keep me from you." The man wasn't moving at all, despite security hustling to get to him. He let himself be tackled and led away, keeping those creepy eyes locked on her face until he was carried through the door. Darcy shuddered.

"Aaaaand, we're done." Tony said abruptly. "Lovely seeing you all, but places to be, things to do." He was already on his feet, tugging Darcy up and pushing her back to the wings. He waited for Pepper to follow her before flashing the cameras a peace sign and exiting himself.

Darcy felt numb, putting one foot in front of the other as Steve put his hand on her back, guiding her to the green room they'd assembled in. Clint was already there, no expression on his face and Natasha joined them after Tony.

All eyes were on Darcy, who took a deep, shaky breath.

"I'm so sorry Pepper." Was the only thing she could say as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. Pepper's face softened even as her phone started beeping furiously.

"Not your fault kid." Tony said immediately. Darcy nodded.

"Still sorry." She mumbled.

"Barton." Natasha said. "She looks like she could use a coffee." Clint frowned at his partner.

"Why don't you take her out for a coffee." Natasha pushed, and understanding relaxed his face.

"Sure, sure." He pulled out his phone, texting something before jerking his head towards a door opposite of the one they'd just entered. Darcy turned to Natasha and reached out to squeeze the older woman's hand.

"Thank you." She whispered. Natasha squeezed back before dropping her hand.

Clint or Tony must have ordered the building cleared, because the hallway they walked through was deserted. They didn't say a word as they walked down the stairs to the garage the cars had been parked in.

They settled into the sports car, and Darcy was glad for the tinted windows. The floor they were parked on was restricted access from the rest of the garage, and the gate that blocked it off lifted to drop them right on the street. Darcy didn't know New York at all, and had no idea where they were going. Clint looked like he was in some kind of Zen driving zone, face blank, aware of everything around the car and weaving in and out of lanes like a seasoned cab driver. They circled a block once, and parked right in front of a funky little coffee shop. Its façade was all loud colors and art that didn't make any sense, Darcy had to smile a little bit that he'd choose a place like this for her.

He got out first and opened her door, ushering her into the shop quickly so that they wouldn't be on the sidewalk for long. Once they got inside, there was no line at the counter.

"One regular coffee for me and a hazelnut latte for her." Clint ordered. "With extra whipped cream and caramel syrup on top." He paid and they stood at the counter, watching the drinks being made. He let her pick the paper cups up and led her to a booth in the back, sitting so that he was facing the door.

"You remembered." She said softly as she sat across from him.

"Yeah." He took a sip of his black coffee. She used her finger and ate the whipped cream and caramel before settling back against her seat.

"I never thought in a million years he'd be here." She mused. "I thought I'd left him behind in Sacramento."

"You wanna tell me about it?" Clint asked, still giving her an out.

"If I don't, you'll have to read about it. Right?" He nodded.

"It's a long story." She continued.

"I don't have anywhere else to be."

Darcy smiled a little sadly at that. "Ever since I was a toddler in Gymboree, I knew I was going to be a gymnast." She began, locking her eyes on the table between them. "I was damned good at it. I won medal after trophy after ribbon when I was a kid. Mom's still got all of them displayed on the wall around the mantle."

She took a long drag off her latte.

"Then I turned 15, and started competing as a senior elite, and everyone _knew_ I was going to the Olympics. I dominated at the World's Championship that year. The team won gold. I got individual golds in the beam, floor, and uneven bars, and the All Around gold." She smiled as she remembered how amazing she'd felt, standing on the podium for all around. Clint didn't stay anything, and she kept her gaze down. "It was incredible, but the Olympics are the dream, ya know? They're every athlete's goal."

"I pretty much lived at the gym after World's. I wasn't in a regular school, my mom and the coaches thought that homeschooling would be better for my career. The Olympic qualifying trials were coming up." Darcy stalled at this point, taking a swig of her latte.

"It was three weeks to the trials, and I'd worked with a small group of other girls who were going to be competing with me that day. We finished, and I went to go review and take notes from my coach in the office. I was going to work for another hour and then head home."

She finally looked up and met his eyes. "You ever spend much time with teenage girls?" She asked. He shook his head no. "Well. They're petty. And stupid. And impulsive. All that is exponentially worse when they're forced into small groups that spend hours and hours at a time with each other every day, competing against each other.

"One of the girls I was working with had this huge grudge against me. She hated how much better than her I was, without noticing all the effort I was putting in to be as good as I was. While I was in the office and the other girls were outside waiting to get picked up, she took a wrench, or a screwdriver, or something like that, and she loosened every bolt and screw she could find on the uneven bars I was going to use. It was an escalation of other stupid shit she'd done and said – she liked to call me fat because I had bigger boobs than anyone else in the gym, which really just meant that I had boobs at all."

She knew she was getting off track, but Clint didn't push her. He was letting her tell the story at her own pace.

"My coach stayed in the office and I went back out to the bars. I was going to run through a version of my routine that was safe to do without a spotter. The bars held together for a while. I made it from the low bar to the high bar but when I went back down, that was when it all went to shit. The low bar snapped off while I was in a handstand on it, and the whole apparatus came apart around and under me." She held up her hands for him to examine as she started the list of injuries she could recite in her sleep.

"Seven broken fingers. My wrist was destroyed. My elbow broke when it hyper extended completely to the wrong way. My shoulder dislocated and tore a bunch of ligaments. My coach ran out, and I got hustled to the hospital pretty quick. It felt like forever though." She bit her lower lip, hard. "It hurt so bad."

Clint reached out and took her right hand, running his thumb over her fingers. She realized she'd been staring at her arm while she spoke.

"I had six surgeries total. Before I went in that night, one of the nurses told me they might have to amputate. I was so scared." Clint squeezed her hand.

"When I woke up, there were cops there. They told me that girl had sabotaged the bars and bragged about it to the girls outside, before they knew how badly I'd been hurt. They wanted to know where my coach had been, and I told them. I found out later they'd wanted to investigate her for neglect, or child endangerment or something. Stupid." She shook her head.

"The girl that did it was arrested while I was in the hospital, and between the fourth and fifth surgeries, I went and spoke at a hearing. I hadn't realized what a media circus the case was, until I walked into the courthouse." She smiled a little. "It looked a lot like today, actually."

"That guy from today, he was one of the reporters following the story. Ed Jenkins. He was obsessed. When… when something else happened, after my fifth surgery. I woke up to an orderly with his hands up my hospital gown."

Her knuckles were turning white around his hand but he never said anything or pulled back. "The cops promised me it wouldn't be on the news. No one was supposed to find out it was me pressing charges. Ed Jenkins found out. He told everyone and he splashed it all over the internet when his paper wouldn't print it. When I got out of the hospital he was everywhere I went. He showed up at the house at night. It was worse than what the orderly did to me."

"Then one day I came back from physical therapy and he was in my room. I opened my closet and there he was." Darcy was shaking. "His paper had fired him and he snapped and blamed me. He got arrested too, and I got a lifelong restraining order."

"That's a lot for a kid to handle." Clint said softly. Darcy gave a bitter laugh.

"My life went from perfect – nearly perfect - to a never ending shit storm. You know what the weird part is? All that pain from the fall, and how disgusting the orderly made me feel, and how terrified I was of Jenkins. The thing that stuck with me the most was this soul crushing disappointment that I'd missed out on the Olympics. All that, and the only thing I pictured when I cried was the Olympic rings."

"When I turned 18, I left the house. My dad died when I was five, and his life insurance was held in trust for me until college, so I took it and I ran to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere."

"You turned out pretty great, for all that you went through." Darcy flushed.

"Thanks. And it wasn't, you know, maybe the worst thing in the world." Clint raised his eyebrows. "When I got out of the hospital, I discovered food." His lips quirked. "I _like_ food. And with food, came the puberty that I'd delayed with too much exercise and not enough carbs, which gave me a figure, and I _love_ having curves."

"They're great curves." Clint hummed, waggling his eyebrows to make her laugh.

The atmosphere relaxed after that, and it was almost like being back in New Mexico, trading quips over a lab bench while they drank coffee he brought her. The tight muscles in her back finally loosened, and despite her sugar and caffeine laden drink, she yawned. Clint stood and steered her back to the car. As they drove away Clint reached out and took her left hand. Darcy turned to look at him, and he stared straight out the window.

"Today's not the day." He said softly. "But one day, I'll tell you about all my shit." Darcy felt a small smile light up her face. She brought his hand up and laid a kiss on his knuckles, and watched the little line between his eyebrows smooth out.


	8. Chapter 8

When they got back to the house, most of the group was in the living room, watching the TV coverage of the press conference. Darcy grimaced and walked back out to the empty kitchen, leaving Clint with his team.

Natasha joined her just as the teakettle started whistling.

"Nobody on TV is reporting about your molestation." Natasha said bluntly. Darcy flinched as she moved the kettle from the burner. "And I didn't tell anyone. That's your story to tell or not."

"Thank you. Thanks for giving me a chance to tell Clint myself."

Natasha was quiet while Darcy filled her mug. Darcy turned around to face her, clutching the mug with both hands for warmth.

"Clint is very important to me." Natasha said, deliberately meeting Darcy's eyes. "And somehow in the last few days you've become very important to him."

"Law of transitive properties and all that?" Darcy asked. Natasha nodded. Darcy hummed, breaking eye contact to stare down at her mug.

"He's important to me too." Darcy murmured as the steam fogged up her glasses.

"Then it sounds like I won't have to tell you exactly what I would do to you if you hurt him." Darcy smiled.

"You're a good friend."

"Tell anyone and I'll have to kill you." Natasha warned her.

"Of course."

Bruce came in then, to inspect the refrigerator and Natasha disappeared. Darcy wandered out, choosing to go to the library instead of the living room, and passed a quiet hour perusing Tony's stacks of books. Most of them were Science! and way over her head, but there was a collection of his mother's crafting books that she pulled out and curled up in a leather chair with.

Pepper came in, smiling warmly at Darcy.

"Darcy, I just wanted to let you know, you don't have anything to be sorry for about today. There's no way you could have anticipated that he'd be there."

Darcy smiled. "No, I guess not. How about for saying 'crap' on camera?"

Pepper snorted a laugh. "You wouldn't believe all the things Tony has said and done on camera. You're allowed a slip up."

Darcy put the books aside and stood, stretching. Her bruises protested, but not as badly as they would have the day before.

"You know he's in jail now, right?" Pepper asked. Darcy shook her head. "The NYPD has him. He violated the restraining order and disrupted the peace. He'll be put away for a few months."

"That's a load off my mind." Darcy admitted. "Not that I was really worried about him getting in here. How'd he get into town? I thought all flights were grounded since the attack."

Pepper frowned. "He's been saying he just woke up here this morning."

Darcy shook her head. "He was always nuts." They paused a moment to appreciate how much of an understatement that was. "It was really nice to get out today though." Darcy continued, changing the subject.

"We'll see what we can do about getting out more. This is your first time in New York, right?" Darcy shook her head.

"I was here for meets a few times, but I was a kid and we didn't really go anywhere but the gym and the hotels."

"Well, we'll have to fix that. As much as we can with Loki still on the loose." They started walking to the kitchen, following their noses to something that smelled exotic and delicious. They got there just as Steve put down about a dozen bags full of take out on the table.

A serious effort was made at dinner, to act like everything was normal, but she could see the new pity in Steve and Thor's eyes when she caught them staring. She managed to choke down enough Thai soup to keep her stomach from growling and escaped out to the patio.

She'd been out there for a few minutes before Tony joined her.

"Didn't like dinner?" He asked, sprawling into a chair.

"Guess I'm just not hungry." She shrugged.

"Bullshit." He wasn't angry, or accusatory. "Pepper looked at me like that sometimes, after I came back with this." He tapped the arc reactor in his chest. "Makes you angry, doesn't it?"

Darcy groaned. "I hate it." She scrubbed her face roughly with both hands. "My coaches looked at me like that. And the doctors. Everyone did."

"And you don't need it." Tony said.

"I never did."

Tony hummed and tipped his head back to look at the sky. "You'll show them that soon enough."

The door opened behind them. "Stark. Darcy. We've got something you need to see." Natasha told them.

When they got inside, there was a thick envelope on the coffee table in the living room. There was no return address or stamp on it, just Darcy's name in an elegant cursive.

"It came with the mail from the Tower." Pepper told them.

"There is no magic on it that I can sense." Thor said. Darcy reached out and picked it up.

"Let one of us open it." Steve started, already holding his hand out. Darcy ignored him and slid her finger under the flap. The group held their breath, probably expecting it to explode or whisk her away, and she pulled out a sheet of parchment paper.

"Darcy Lewis." She read. "Did you enjoy my message today? He was a reminder. I know your deepest fears. I know how to use them against you."

"Then there's a drawing of us at the coffee shop today." Darcy glanced over at Clint, whose face was drawn tight.

She passed the paper over to Thor. "Signed Loki."

Pepper looked troubled, Jane was pale again, and everyone else had stony faces. Except Thor, who wore the heartbreak of his brother's betrayal on his sleeve as he scanned the page. Darcy heaved a sigh.

"Maybe I shouldn't have gone for that last nut shot." She mused. Tony gave a startled bark of laughter from behind her.

Thor looked up at her, and a tiny, tiny ghost of a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "It would not have made a difference, Darcy. You had already put your finger in his eye."

"And you tased him in Norway." Jane reminded her.

"You hid my fair Jane from him, and surely he had plans to use her against me in the battle." Thor said in a more serious tone. Darcy was facing Steve, who was looking impressed.

"Maybe." Darcy hummed. "Well. I'm going to go take a bath." She stepped over to Clint. "Can you undo me?" She asked, jerking her thumb towards the center of her back as she turned away from him. His warm fingers slid down the back of her dress and unsnapped her bra on the first try.

"Thanks." She said as she walked away from the silent room. They started talking when she got to the stairs.

She used her bathroom, surprisingly undamaged after the previous night. The water made her healing cuts sting, but the warmth was wonderful for her aching muscles. She set the shield on the lip of the tub, and Jarvis provided some nice tunes. When she left the bathroom, she was mostly recovered from the blast of adrenaline that had shocked her system when she saw the drawing of her and Clint. Wearing only a towel and carrying pajama bottoms, she slipped across the hall to Clint's room and stole one of his t-shirts. It smelled like him, and when she dropped it over her head she finally felt safe again.

His bed looked inviting, and someone (or maybe one of Tony's robots) had cleaned up the spider mess next to it. Darcy sat on the foot of it, delaying going back downstairs with everyone while she toyed with the hem of the shirt. The door opening startled her.

Her mind froze with a mental image of Goldilocks and the Three Bears as Clint stared at her from the doorway. His pupils dilated, and he breathed "Jesus fuck, Darcy."

He crossed the room in three steps, before Darcy could apologize for invading his room, and leaned forward to cage her between his arms, palms flat on the bed. His face suddenly filled her vision, and then his lips were on hers. She moaned and brought her hands up to his shoulders. He hissed and broke away when she accidentally brushed one of his cuts.

"Sorry, sorry." She gasped, and he pushed her flat onto her back, crawling over her and settling in to kiss her again. His left arm was braced above her head, keeping his weight off of her and his right hand roamed down her side before hitching her left leg up around his hip. Darcy pulled him in close with that leg and reached around his back to slide her hands under his shirt. His right hand slid up to her chest, and she gasped in pain when his hand passed over the edge of the bruise on her sternum.

Darcy whimpered when he broke their kiss to rest his forehead against hers.

"Christ Darce, you just look so _good_ in my clothes." He gasped, trying to get his breathing under control. Darcy leaned up and stole another quick kiss from him before he rolled over. They lay next to each, panting.

Darcy sat up and straddled his hips when she caught her breath, biting her lip when she felt his erection strain against her core. She ran her hands up his stomach and onto his chest, and the wary look he was giving her made her feel powerful.

"I really, really want you." She whispered. He groaned.

"We can't. I don't want to hurt you, and I would right now." His voice had this husky, growly tone to it that made her shiver.

She played with the collar on his shirt for a moment. "When we're feeling better though? When the cuts are all healed and the bruises don't hurt?"

"When the bruises are gone." He amended, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'll tell you when they won't bother me." She said firmly, before leaning down and stealing one more kiss from him. He looked a little dazed as she slithered off of him and padded softly to the door.

"See you downstairs." She said softly as she closed the door.

Darcy found Tony alone in the living room, playing with some kind of design on his tablet with the news playing in the background. He looked up and gave her an appraising once over as she flopped onto the couch beside him.

"Well well well, you look like the cat that ate the canary. That have anything to do with Barton going to check on you ten minutes ago?" Darcy just grinned at him and he laughed.

"What's on the docket for tomorrow boss?" She asked.

"I'm headed over to the Tower to move lab equipment and a few personal things over here. You wanna help?"

Darcy nodded. "No more spiders though, right?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Bruce said those wouldn't work. I'll have to think of something else."

"Sounds good." Darcy said. "What time?"

"I'll let you know."

Darcy nodded and scooted closer to see what it was he was working on. It was Science! but not the kind of Science! that Jane did, she could tell that much. Knowing she'd never be able to understand it, she focused on the TV until Clint came downstairs.

He looked more relaxed than when she'd left him, and merely rolled his eyes when she stood and smirked at him.

"Let's go. You're going to eat something. That wasn't enough at dinner." He told her, leaning against the doorframe. Darcy nodded and walked past him.

"You two kids have fun!" Tony called out. Darcy didn't see what happened behind her, but Tony yelped and when she turned around Clint was right behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder to steer her to the kitchen.

She ended up finishing the soup she'd started, and this time she was able to appreciate how very delicious a coconut milk broth could be. Bruce and Natasha wandered in to give her a pill before bed and stayed with them while she finished.

"So." Darcy started, looking at Bruce. "There was no magic on that note." Bruce shook his head. "Do we think he's avoiding magic because you can track him with it?" Bruce shrugged.

"It's also possible that what we picked up on was only a certain kind of energy signature he can manipulate, and he's relying on a different variety now." Bruce had that faraway look that Jane got when she was about to start a Science! bender. Darcy hummed.

"You'll figure it out." Darcy said faithfully. Bruce flashed her a distracted smile as he pushed away from the table, wandering away towards the basement labs.

"Someone should probably check on him in a few hours." Darcy told Natasha. "When Jane gets that look she'll go for days without sleep or food.

"He'll be fine." Natasha told her. Darcy was skeptical, and made a mental note to check the labs in the morning. She busied herself cleaning up her food, surprised when Clint came up behind her at the sink and wrapped his arms around her. It was nice to lean back against his chest though. He pressed a kiss into her temple.

"Ready for bed?" He breathed into her ear, making her shiver.

"Mind if I read for a little while?" She asked, setting her head back against his collarbone. He didn't, and they said goodnight to Natasha before heading back up to his room.

He surprised her by opening a drawer and tossing her a nightgown before she could go across the hall.

"When did I get a drawer in here?" She asked, catching the silk easily.

"More than a drawer." He said, gesturing to the closet. "There's more of your stuff in here than mine."

"Did you move my stuff in here?"

"Yeah, after you went downstairs." There was a vulnerable look in his eyes that surprised her. "That ok?"

Darcy gave him a broad smile and crossed to the drawers. She pulled him in for a long, sweet kiss.

"It's more than ok." She told him. He gave her this sheepish grin that nearly melted her heart, and she went to change in the bathroom, and laughed at how many more toiletries she had than him.

She was more tired than she'd thought, and only read a few pages of an e-book before putting the tablet down and pushing back against Clint, who obligingly pulled her in as Jarvis lowered the lights.


	9. Chapter 9

For the first time since the attack, Clint and Darcy couldn't keep each other's nightmares at bay. Darcy startled awake first, coming out of the memory of falling from the hover board and being certain she was about to die. In the dream, Iron Man had missed her, and she gasped and jumped in real life when she slammed into the pavement in her dream.

"Shhhh, shhhh." Clint soothed her as she shook in his arms. She fell back asleep with tears on her cheeks.

A few hours later she woke as Clint's grip tightened around her. He was groaning and his head burrowed down into the back of her neck.

"Clint." She said softly, careful to keep her hands off him. "Clint. Wake up Clint."

He woke with a shuddering gasp, immediately loosing his arm around her stomach. He brought his right hand up to rub at his face.

"Switch." He mumbled. Darcy let him maneuver them until he was flat on his back and she was curled up on his right side. His heartbeat was strong and reassuring under her cheek, and she splayed her hand on the opposite side of his chest as she fell back to sleep. The next morning she had a vague memory of more fear, and Clint's hand rubbing her back until she felt better.

Jarvis telling Clint that Natasha wanted to spar woke Darcy up at the crack of dawn again, and she rolled off of him. Clint didn't look particularly well rested, and she knew she felt like shit. They shared a bitter smile before he swung his feet off the side of the bed and padded into the bathroom. Darcy sat back against the headboard with her tablet against her legs. Avoiding the news sounded good, so she just went straight to the cute animal blogs she usually surfed.

"Tony's taking me to the Tower today." She told Clint as he left the bathroom in a t-shirt and sweatpants. He grunted as he bent down to tie his shoes. "I don't know when."

"Well, we're probably all gonna go as security anyway. I'll see you then." His dismissive words cut her, a little, and she shocked herself with what she did next.

"Hold up there, Hawkass." She was off the bed and walking towards him. He turned with an indignant expression. With no hesitation, she reached out and grabbed his collar, and planted a hard kiss on his mouth. He held himself still for a moment before she melted against him, and then wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. She slid her hands from his collar up to his cheeks, and loved the texture of his stubble against her palms. He broke away from her mouth but kept his hold on her.

"Hawkass?" He asked.

"You were pulling away." Darcy shrugged. "We had a bad night, that's all. I knew they were coming; I'm not going to run scared. I'm not gonna let you push me away before I can hurt you, either." He tensed against her, and she laid a soft kiss on the side of his neck.

"You're too damned perceptive." He grumbled. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead and let her go. This time she let him leave, with a promise to try and have breakfast together.

After her shower, she grabbed two mugs of coffee and went to the basement labs. She was surprised to see Tony there instead of Bruce. He looked up and held his hand out for a mug before dropping his gaze down to his lab bench. Darcy stayed where she was in the door, and after a minute he turned his head to her and blinked.

"Coffee?" He asked pathetically.

"Am I allowed to get you coffee before we sign my contract?" Darcy teased. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Pepper has that up in our suite, anytime you're ready. Can I get that coffee though?"

"I actually thought it'd be Bruce down here." She admitted as she passed him the mug. Tony shrugged.

"He's gotta be careful about burning the candle at both ends. It cuts down on the control he's got over the other guy." Darcy nodded before taking a sip of her own coffee.

They enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee together, sitting on opposite sides of a lab bench. Darcy thought about chasing Clint down before he left the door. When men before him had gotten antsy, she'd let them go without a second thought. She'd put herself out there this morning though. Told him she _wanted_ him around. It was feeling that thrilled her, even as it made her gut churn with fear.

Tony shook himself out of whatever he was mulling over and looked over Darcy's shoulder when the door opened. When Darcy turned to look, she was surprised to see Jane.

"Hey, um." Jane bit her lip. "I've been kind of, um, a brat? The past couple of days." She was wringing her hands in front of herself and looked truly uncomfortable. "I'm not usually like that, I swear. I came down to offer to help find Loki. If you can use me."

Darcy whipped her head around to give Tony a pleading look. He sighed and stood up. He walked over to Jane.

"It's been a rough couple of days." He said. He extended his hand to Jane, who hesitantly shook it. "Fresh slate." He suggested. "I'm Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

Jane smiled. "Dr. Jane Foster. Astrophysicist, Poptart lover, once hit a god with an RV."

"Hey now," Darcy argued playfully. "Twice, you hit him _twice_." Tony laughed, and the tension in the room broke. He showed them both what he and Bruce had been working on, though Jane got a lot more out of the tour than Darcy did. When he turned his back for a minute, Darcy snatched Jane up into a quick, tight hug. They headed up to breakfast half an hour after Jane got down there.

When they got up there, Clint, Natasha, Thor, and Bruce were already in the room, which smelled suspiciously smoky. Darcy spotted a soot-coated toaster in the sink and turned to raise an eyebrow at Thor. He sheepishly smiled at her, and reached up to scratch the back of his head.

"I had hoped to prepare some Poptarts for my Lady Jane." Thor admitted. Darcy smiled at him.

"Maybe next time wait for someone who know how to use a kitchen, Thor." He nodded solemnly.

"Dr. Banner has already instructed me thusly."

Bruce pressed another pill into her hand, and she passed it back. "I'd rather go with Aleeve for the day, doc." He nodded and left the room. She'd been way too careful about getting addicted to painkillers when she was a teenager to push her luck now.

After breakfast Tony sent her up to his suite to sign her contract with Pepper. The salary just about made her heart stop, and she realized she'd barely even scratched the surface of that clothing allowance even after Tony had forced her to buy more stuff. If she wanted to look for an apartment, she could, but Tony had designated Clint's room as the both of theirs indefinitely and he was designing her a whole condo in the Tower when it was done being rebuilt. Pepper gave her a new phone after they'd signed everything, and Darcy left the rooms in a bit of a daze.

She went straight to Clint's room – their room – and called her Mom to tell her about the job. A promise to come out and visit the first chance she got was enough to convince her mom not to drive out to the still devastated city, and Darcy hung up actually feeling pretty good. Tony used Jarvis' speakers to tell her to be ready to leave in an hour, and she went over to Jane's room to ask for help getting padding between her bruises and her bra.

They left the same way they had the day before, except that Clint and Natasha took Steve with them, Bruce and Jane were in the limo with them, and Thor flew high above them. There were moving trucks in the loading bay at the Tower, and Steve was waiting for them in the lobby. Pepper stopped off at the corporate level and the rest of them continued up. Tony directed Jane and Bruce to labs a floor below his, and Thor followed them. When the doors opened directly into Tony's personal labs, Darcy deeply, deeply regretted getting out first.

White foam hit her square in the face, with a lot of force, leaving her pinwheeling her arms and yelling in confusion. She heard Tony yelling as she fell down onto her ass, hard before Steve got in front of her. She furiously wiped the foam from her eyes and squinted them open.

"DUM-E, what the hell!?" Tony was hollering as he skidded across the floor to what appeared to be a robotic arm holding a fire extinguisher. The fire extinguisher finally ran empty and the robot chucked the can at Steve, who flinched a little when it hit him. The can bounced off of him and hit Darcy on the knee. She yelped and pulled her legs back. A ton of robotic appendages in the lab were whirring, and spinning and blinking lights, and scaring the crap out of Darcy.

"STOP! EVERYONE _STOP_!" Tony bellowed, and the room suddenly became still and quiet. The only thing Darcy could hear was everyone's harsh breathing. Steve crouched down in front of her, running his hands over her arms, which were covered in foam.

"Are you hurt, Darcy?" He looked concerned as he reached up and wiped some of the foam off her cheeks.

Darcy spit out some foam, coughing as she nodded her head. "No, no, I'm fine."

Tony looked more chagrined than Darcy had ever seen him. "Guess they got a little scared when the Tower was attacked." He mumbled. Steve shook his head as his phone rang, and he passed the cell to Darcy. It was Clint.

"You okay?" Clint asked.

"Yup. Fine. Feeling gross. Where are you?"

"Watching." He said.

"Right. Of course."

"Well I'll just let you get cleaned up then."

"Gonna watch that too?" She asked cheekily. He laughed and hung up.

"Bathroom?" She asked Tony, who was fussing with his robots.

"Er, the one in my suite isn't working. How about the emergency shower over there?" He pointed to a showerhead hanging in the corner, completely exposed. Steve blushed a bright, bright red.

"We'll clear out." Tony sounded a little exasperated as he turned to Steve. "Head up to my penthouse and get her some clothes to put on.

"Sure, fine." Darcy grumbled. She pulled out the shield that had somehow survived the soaking and the fall, turned it on so that they could see and set it and the panic button on the shelf next to the shower. Tony undid her bra snap for her and then they left. She thought that if Steve got any redder his head would explode.

Grinning at the thought that Clint was watching, she slowly dropped her dress. The bra came next, and she shimmied get her panties down in a way she knew drove men wild. The emergency shower was freezing cold, but she really wanted the foam out of her hair before it hardened, so she sucked it up and plunged her head under the stream.

Just as she thought she'd finally gotten the last of the foam out of her hair, the shield flashed bright blue around her as something popped against it. She snapped her eyes open, gaping at Loki standing by the windows. Smashing her hand down on the panic button, she groped wildly for the towel.

"Oh, Darcy Lewis, at last we meet again." He hissed as she quickly wrapped herself in the towel.

"Hasn't been that long." She quipped, "Certainly not long enough for my tastes." She broke her gaze from his to the elevator.

"Your heroes won't be joining us." Loki sneered at her. "I've given them something to hold their attention." He snapped his fingers, and a projection appeared between the two of them. It was Steve and Tony, up in the ruined penthouse fighting what looked like a dozen black clothed masked men. The image pulsed, before it changed to a view of Bruce and Jane, trying to hold a door closed against the crowd of men after them.

"You see." Loki was baring his teeth at her. "I know what you fear. I know what you fear more than pain. I know what scares you more than humiliation, or violation." Darcy kept her face stony. The projected image switched to a bloodied Clint, fighting off his own band of masked thugs. Darcy felt her stomach drop, and couldn't stop herself from reaching out.

"Your deepest fear is desire." Loki whispered to her, and she watched in horror as Clint took a hit to the face from a pole. He staggered backwards, and the next hit launched him out of the window he must have been using to watch her.

Darcy saw red. Loki had finally pushed her too far, and she passed through the terror to _rage_. There was a roaring in her ears that blocked out all other noise. She reached out and grabbed the first thing she could find, some kind of contraption made of metal and sharp edges and she hurled it through the image of Clint falling to his death. Loki wasn't expecting it, and threw his hands up to cover his face. Darcy followed her projectile and launched herself at Loki. He knocked her away, and her back hit a lab bench before she slid to the floor. A long screwdriver fell down next to her, and she snatched it up. She scrambled back to Loki and punched the sharp end through his calf, feeling triumphant when he screamed and fell backwards. Pressing her advantage, she ripped the screwdriver out of his leg and buried it in his chest.

This time she left it in and scrambled backwards. The robot that had hit her with the fire extinguisher had rolled up next to them, and began beating Loki in the head and face. Three of the stationary robots shot lights like Iron Man's repulsor rays, pushing Loki along the floor towards the windows.

There was a noise finally cutting through the roaring in her head – a roar she remembered from the attack on the city. The Hulk smashed through the windows, landing on top of Loki. Tony followed him through in his suit and grabbed Darcy. They flew right back out and up through a broken window in the penthouse, before she was tossed at Steve and Iron Man disappeared again.

She'd lost her towel a long time ago, and Steve couldn't seem to figure out where to touch her or look at her. Shoving away from him, she started towards the elevator.

"Wait, wait!" Steve called out.

"I don't have time for this!" She shrieked at him, whirling around to face him. He really was a sweetheart, and she'd feel terrible later, but his red face just made her so angry. "Clint is out there and I don't know if he's alive or dead and I just need to _be there_!" The elevator opened to reveal Natasha.

"Thor caught him." Natasha said right away. Darcy sagged with relief. She let Steve get a coat around her before they all got in the elevator. When they reached the lobby Darcy raced out ahead of the other two, following the sirens to where she thought Clint would be.

He was laying on a stretcher unconscious, looking deathly pale. There was a frenzy of activity around him, and he was being loaded into an ambulance. Darcy took a running leap and jumped in with his gurney.

"No! No!" A paramedic yelled at her. "What are you doing?"

"Shut up and get us to a hospital!" She screamed right back. The guy didn't move, giving Natasha time to slide in herself.

"Go." Natasha snapped, and the doors were closed and the ambulance started moving. Darcy stayed out of the way of the people working on Clint, and Natasha sat quietly next to her. When they reached the hospital, Clint was rushed straight into an operating room, and Darcy was left in the waiting room.

The sudden pause after all that action was a shock to her system. Natasha just took a chair, watching the door to the OR intently; while Darcy stood in the middle of the room, focusing on glimpses she could get through the tiny plastic windows in the door.


	10. Chapter 10

They kept their vigil alone for what felt like an age, before people started trickling in. Pepper was first, sitting quietly next to Natasha. Not a word was said. Tony and Bruce came after her. Bruce wanted to make sure Darcy wasn't hurt, but she shook him off. Steve joined them soon after, and she ignored him so she wouldn't have to deal with the shame she felt over yelling at him.

Jane never came, and Darcy understood why when she overheard that Thor had taken Loki back to Asgard. He was gone, and wouldn't be back until Jane could fix the Rainbow Bridge.

Finally, hours later, a doctor came back to speak to them. Natasha was Clint's emergency contact and had control over his medical decisions.

Clint had sustained internal injuries from his beating, and the hits to his head had swollen his brain. They'd patched up some internal bleeding in his abdomen, and they were going to observe him carefully to see if they needed to do surgery on his brain. He was in recovery right now, heavily sedated. Natasha did that scary thing with her voice, and Darcy was allowed to sit with him.

It was awful, seeing him like this. Hooked up to monitors and IVs. So pale. Darcy pulled the chair up next to his bed and carefully took his hand in hers, holding as tight as she dared as she kept her eyes on his still face.

Natasha came in, after a few hours, with warm clothes. Darcy was reluctant to leave him, but Natasha pushed her and she went to change in the restroom. When she came back, Natasha examined her right arm, hissing through her teeth when she saw it.

"I threw something at him." Darcy said dully. "It'll be fine." Natasha didn't push, and left her alone with Clint again.

Bruce came in a few hours after that with a bag of take out. Darcy refused to eat, and Bruce left the food on a table as he probed at her arm. He wanted to at least give her painkillers, and she refused. She sat awake the whole night, watching Clint's face and chest and monitors for any sign of change.

Natasha came back in the morning and sat down with Darcy.

"Either you eat or I let Banner sedate you." Darcy flinched away from her, but took the muffin that was thrust under her nose. It tasted and felt like sawdust, but she choked it down.

"You're punishing yourself." Natasha observed. Tendrils of grief started to squeeze the numb state she'd put herself in.

"Loki hurt him to make me hurt." Darcy affirmed. A hysterical sob bubbled up her throat. "And I distracted him." Natasha didn't say anything to that. "I knew he was watching so I gave him a little show before the shower. And they snuck up on him. It was so, so stupid." Natasha took a deep breath, and Darcy remembered that she'd promised to hurt Darcy if Clint got hurt.

"You didn't distract him." Natasha finally said. "Loki dropped them right on top of him. Clint didn't miss them coming through the door because of you." Darcy folded over and put her head down on the bed.

"Clint wouldn't have let that get in the way of his job anyway." Natasha continued. "His job was your safety, and he took it very, very seriously. It's entirely Loki's fault he got hurt." For the first time since seeing Clint fall, about 14 hours before, Darcy finally let herself cry. Natasha didn't rub her back, or shush her – that's not the kind of friend she was – but she let Darcy sob herself silly, and didn't leave until Darcy was done.

A blanket was settled over her shoulders when she woke up an hour later, and she tugged it close around her herself before she took Clint's hand again. The doctors came and ran their tests, reporting that the swelling was on the way down, and at this point in time it didn't look like they'd have to operate.

Tony came later to check on her, grimacing when he saw her. He couldn't persuade her to leave long enough to take a shower, and finally left looking very troubled. Bruce came by at dinnertime and Darcy appeased him by eating a few bites. She made him leave when he asked for an x-ray of her wrist though.

She spent another long, miserable night sitting by Clint's bed, listening to the monitors beep and watching his face.

The next morning, the doctors announced that they would bring him out of sedation and fiddled with his IVs. The relief she felt when his eyes flickered open was such a solid thing it nearly knocked her to the ground. He passed the doctors initial tests before falling right back to sleep. They told her to hit the call button if he woke up again, and she promised that she would.

He did wake up again that afternoon, even enough to speak to the doctors, who declared him miraculously clear of permanent brain damage. Darcy cried again after he fell asleep, and this time they were happy tears.

When he woke up that evening, Darcy patted the back of his hand to get his attention.

"Clint. Clint." She repeated, and when he focused on her he gave her a great, drug addled, enormous grin.

"Darcy." His voice was dazed, and music to her ears.

"Clint, I have something to tell you." She whispered, scooting up to fold her arms next to his head and prop her chin on her hands.

"Yeah?"

"I want you." She said proudly.

His grin somehow broadened and he reached out for her. "Babe, I want you too. What's your plan of action? I'm game for anything." He started tugging at her shoulder, trying to pull her all the way onto the bed. Darcy laughed and grabbed his hand.

"No, no, not like that." His face fell, and feeling a little guilty, she reached out to stroke his cheek.

"Wait, I mean, I do want you like that, but not right now. I don't think you could even…" She glanced down at his lap.

"I could _always_ 'even'." Clint said indignantly. Darcy looked back up to his face with a smile.

"I'm sure you can." She soothed. "But I meant, I want you like I wanted the Olympics." His mouth formed an exaggerated 'O' of understanding, though she didn't believe he really did comprehend, with all the drugs in his system. "I want you _more_ than I wanted the Olympics. I've made an art of not wanting anything, or caring too deeply about anything for a decade Clint. And then here you are. With me. And before I even knew what I was doing, I wanted you."

He started to smile again, and reached up to cup her cheek.

"I think." He slurred, the drugs starting to pull him under again. "I think I've loved you since New Mexico. Saw you sassin' Coulson, got right up in his face like you weren't scared a' him. S'the hottest thing I ever saw."

Darcy leaned over and kissed his forehead, and when she pulled back he was asleep again, a cute little smile on his lips.

Tony had a bed delivered that night that was big enough for the two of them that night, and the nurses swapped Clint and his equipment over to it quicker than Darcy would have thought possible. It was wonderful to lie down next to him. She laid down facing him and folded her legs up in front of herself. His hand found her knee and that little bit of contact was all she needed to finally drop off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

They slept through the night, and Darcy was overjoyed to see Clint awake before her in the morning. She only had time to scoot closer and kiss his shoulder before Bruce interrupted them.

"Agent Barton. Glad to see you awake." Bruce said formally. "Darcy, I'd really like to get your wrist x-rayed today. If you need to be casted we have to do it soon."

Clint turned a thunderous frown on Darcy. "You're hurt?" He demanded roughly.

Darcy scowled at Bruce, who didn't even have the decency to look apologetic. "I'm fine." She ground out. Clint fumbled with the covers until he'd dragged them down to her waist. The look of horror on his face when he saw the bruises around her elbow and wrist made her snarl at Bruce. Without another word she yanked herself out of the bed and stomped out of the room ahead of Bruce. Pepper and Tony were coming up the hallway when Bruce closed the door behind him. Darcy whirled around and pointed her finger right in his face.

"I want another doctor treating me." She snapped. Bruce's face tightened. "And if you ever, _ever_ use Clint to get me to do something like that again we are done. I will never speak to you again."

"Of course." Bruce said blandly, and he walked past Tony and Pepper.

"Whoa there, maybe that was a little harsh." Tony observed. Darcy scoffed.

"I was going to get it looked at today anyway. It was completely unnecessary to show Clint my bruises. I know my body. Nothing's broken."

"We've been worried about you Darcy." Pepper cut in. "You weren't eating or sleeping."

"That doesn't excuse him. He shouldn't have talked about it in front of or with anyone but me."

Tony hummed. "It's been a while since Bruce's been around anyone he cares about. He was really wrecked about you wasting away over Barton. He was just getting desperate."

Darcy threw her hands up. "Did you not hear the part where he gets another chance?"

"I did." Tony said. "But there's no guarantee that Bruce did."

"I'm still angry." Darcy said, poking Tony in the shoulder. "I'll talk to him after the doctor tells me everything's sprained or strained."

"Make sure you do." Tony warned her.

Darcy endured the x-rays, unsurprised when she was told that nothing was broken and none of the pins were out of place. She was given a shot for the inflammation and pills for swelling and pain. A brace was applied to her wrist and she was sent on her way. When she got back to Clint's room, he was asleep, so she took the chair and kicked her feet up on the edge of the bed. Around lunchtime, Tony poked his head in and raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.

Darcy heaved herself to her feet and found Steve physically restraining Bruce in the hallway. Stepping into Bruce's field of vision, she reached out and put her left hand on his chest. He immediately stopped struggling, and Steve let him go.

"Come on." Darcy said, jerking her head to an empty room. Bruce followed her meekly, and she closed the door after he walked through.

"I was going to let you look at it today." She started bluntly, turning to face him. Bruce hunched his shoulders, staring intently at the ground. "Tell me you understand why I was angry."

"I do." He whispered, carefully not looking at her. Darcy quietly walked right up to him, and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. His body stiffened, and stayed that way for a long time.

After an awkward, long, full minute, Darcy warned Bruce, "I'm staying right here till you hug me back."

Bruce finally relented and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Darcy held on silently until he finally relaxed.

"I get that you've been avoiding personal relationships for a while." She murmured. "And I get why this was hard for you." His arms drew her in tighter.

"Don't run away." She continued. "The team wants you here. I want you here. Stay."

"Ok." He said, and that was that.

Darcy tightened her hold on him for a split second before releasing him. She stepped back, and Tony grinned at them as they got back into the hall. Darcy ignored him and gave Steve a long hug, and whispered "Sorry for yelling at you." before going back into Clint's room.

He was awake and eating off a lunch tray on his lap when she got back in. He motioned towards a tray on the stand beside the bed, and she settled next to him with it. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she saw steak under the cover. It looked like a filet mignon, and there were tiny potatoes and what looked like giant ravioli on the top of the steak. When she poked the ravioli with a fork, it exploded a cheese sauce all over the steak, and her stomach growled loudly at the sight and smell of it. Clint took her plate and started to cut up her meat for her.

"Uh uh, buddy. I got this." She said, stealing the plate back from him. He looked surprised as she set the plate back on her own lap.

"You're wearing a brace." He pointed out.

"And it's not the first time I've had to eat with one, and it won't be the last." Darcy told him sweetly. She managed her silverware competently, if not artfully, and Clint went back to eating.

When they were done, she put the trays aside. Clint was frowning at his lap.

"Man, I don't remember hospital food being that good." She joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You should have let the doctors look at you earlier." He burst out angrily. Darcy flipped around to face him, sitting cross-legged, and reached out and grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"I couldn't leave. I'd like to give you some great speech about being a big girl, and knowing my body, but the truth is that even if the pins had been pushed out through my skin they still would have had to sedate me to get me away from you." She told him honestly. Her hand loosened its grip and slid back into her own lap. Clint groaned.

"This probably, most likely, is not the last time that I'm going to end up in the hospital." He told her. "I need to know you're going to take care of yourself next time." Darcy shuddered at the knowledge that there would be a next time.

"What would you have done?" She countered. He blanched, and looked away from her. "I'm not gonna put up with any double standards here. Yes, next time, I'll try to take better care of myself. This time was the first time. It was you getting hurt because of me." Clint snapped his head back to her, and then moaned in pain, clutching his head.

"Shit, babe. It wasn't your fault. You have to know that."

"I do. It was Loki's _fault_. You still got hurt _because_ he wanted to hurt _me_." He shook his head slowly, and Darcy groaned. They were silent for a long time before Darcy reached out for his hand.

"We've each done this." Her voice was subdued as she ran her thumb over his fingers. "You blamed yourself when Loki got into your room on the boat."

"Helicarrier." He corrected.

"What?" Darcy asked, sidetracked.

"It's a flying aircraft carrier." He clarified.

Darcy's jaw dropped. "That's… a terrible idea. I mean, it's cool. But really a terrible idea."

Clint gave her a small smile and Darcy shook her head. "Anyways." She continued. "You blamed yourself for that. I feel responsible for this. So we're going to wipe this slate clean." She declared. "And then toss it out entirely. Neither of us is going to let the other get hurt if there's a thing in the world we could do to prevent it."

Clint nodded carefully. "Alright. That sounds like a solid plan." They shook on it, and then Darcy reached past him and fiddled with his IV, hitting the button for another hit of painkillers. She bullied him into lying back down and curled up next to him, tracing small designs on his bicep with her fingers. He dropped off to sleep quickly, and when she was sure he was out, she grabbed a change of clothes that Natasha had brought at some point.

Borrowing Clint's private bathroom (really, hospital stays had never been this nice when she was a kid!) she showered for the first time in days. She imagined that the sweat and grime she scrubbed off was her fear and grief, and it was cathartic to watch it swirl down the drain until the water ran clear.

When she finally left the bathroom, Pepper was knocking at the door, looking around for her curiously.

"Hey Darcy. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure, if you want to speak here."

"Tony!" Pepper called down the hall. "I found her."

Tony strolled into the room, giving Darcy an approving nod when he found her showered and slipping the brace back over her wrist. "Hey kid."

Clint was coming around, and Darcy helped him raise the head of the bed and settled in next to him, looking at Tony and Pepper expectantly.

"So, er, we have another situation with the press." Pepper explained. Darcy raised her eyebrow and Tony snickered.

"Yes?" Darcy prodded.

"There's another picture of you and Tony. There was a photographer on the roof across from the labs when Loki got in." Darcy's eyes bugged out and she locked her eyes on Tony.

"This is a weird, weird problem to have, Bossman." She informed Tony. He folded forward over the footboard, laughing like a hyena.

"What?" Clint asked, looking between the two of them.

"Iron Man here flew me up to the penthouse after the Hulk got into the lab." Darcy told him.

"The _Hulk_ was in there with you?" Clint sounded dumbfounded. "And it's just your arm that got hurt?"

"Actually, he didn't touch me at all. I hurt my arm when I threw something at Loki."

"It'll take me months to fix that, by the way." Tony chided her, apparently over his giggle fit. Darcy and Pepper frowned mightily at him. "Not that I'm not glad you're safe and all." He amended quickly. "But still. That was delicate equipment you used as a battering ram."

"So sorry." Darcy said sarcastically before turning to Pepper. "Is my face in the photos?" Pepper nodded grimly.

"I think you were looking at the other buildings looking for… You know." Pepper trailed off, carefully not looking at Clint. Darcy nodded.

"I don't get it." Clint admitted.

"I was fresh out of the shower, Clint." His face changed slowly as understanding dawned on him.

"Oh. _Oh_. Crap." He turned back to Pepper. "And you let naked pictures of her get out?" He demanded.

Pepper spread her hands helplessly. "They were on the internet before any of us even got here."

"Priority was getting Loki off the planet." Tony added, defensive of Pepper. Clint narrowed his eyes at Tony.

"This is not fucking funny, Stark."

"It is a little." Darcy observed. "When you take into consideration how it follows the whole topless photos from the first time I met him thing."

"See, I knew we'd work well together." Tony said easily.

"You're going to get those photos off the Internet, Stark." Clint warned.

"Already got a virus working on it. It's a pretty vicious little fucker to the websites that were distributing it. It's not exactly kind to people who downloaded it either."

"None of them got into the tabloids?" Clint demanded.

"That was easy to prevent." Pepper soothed. "I started calling around the minute I knew about the photos. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's keeping Tony's bullshit out of print."

Tony looked at her with surprise. "Ms. Potts, did you just curse?" He asked. Pepper rolled her eyes. "I am shocked madam, absolutely shocked."

"Anyway." Pepper cut in. "The photos themselves are dealt with. But the press is still asking about them. They're supposedly proof of a sexual relationship between you two."

"EEEEEEWWW." Darcy shuddered.

"Hey!" Tony sounded indignant. "I'll have you know that _lots _of women want a sexual relationship with me."

"Shut up Stark." Clint grumbled. Darcy patted the back of his hand.

"Well I don't." She said firmly. Tony shook his head in mock despair. "Anything else?" Darcy asked.

"Pepper thought it'd be a good idea to put off your start date a while. How's two months after your boy-toy's cleared sound?" Tony offered.

"What am I going to do for two months?" Darcy asked, confused.

"You could take a trip." Pepper suggested. Clint brightened a little at the suggestion. Darcy mulled that over.

"Take my jet." Tony suggested. "It'll be a while before I can escape New York anyway. I'll be here doing press and paperwork for the foreseeable future."

"No." Clint said firmly. "Too high profile." Tony shrugged, because it was no skin off his nose either way. Darcy smiled sunnily at the two of them.

"Thank you, I think we'll take you up on that." She let herself get excited at the idea of one on one time, to get to know Clint better without distractions. Tony and Pepper left, and soon after Clint's eyes started to droop again as the pain meds were dropped into his IV on the timer. Darcy pulled up her e-book when she thought he was asleep, sitting cross-legged beside him and was surprised when he hooked his hand around her arm. He tugged at her with a look of concentration on his face.

"Yeah?" She asked with concern.

"C'mere." He demanded, and she scooted down to lie facing him. He was on his back with his head turned to her, staring so intently at her face she started to worry.

"What's wrong?" She asked, trying to look over his shoulder at the monitors. He shook his head, so she focused on his face.

"I wanna take you everywhere." He slurred seriously, looking straight into her eyes. "I wanna show you everything." She couldn't have held back her smile if she'd had to. He reached up from her arm and cupped her cheek with his hand still attached to the IVs. "I wanna feed you all… the… things…" As his voice trailed off, his eyes closed, and Darcy giggled.

"If you feed me all the things I'll get fat." She told him playfully.

"Good." He said with his eyes still closed. She stayed where she was, watching his face relax into sleep before she lifted his hand and set it back over his stomach and picking up the tablet again. This time she was able to read until dinner was brought in.


	12. Chapter 12

Clint was discharged, and they spent a few days lazing around the mansion before he declared one morning that he felt fine, and Darcy needed to pack her bags because they were leaving that afternoon. The spontaneity was exciting, and she raced upstairs giggling to pack the bags that had been delivered from Norway while they were in the hospital.

He followed her at a more sedate pace, and showed her their fake IDs for the trip. He was to be an air marshal, so that he would be cleared to travel with his weapons. It was one he'd used several times before, so airport security around the world would recognize him.

Her new name was Daisy Lewis, and when she complained to him that it was too close to her own name, he told her that she would be less likely to be confused if they kept it simple. Unable to argue with that, she stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed and pushed her towards the bathroom to pack her toiletries.

She was packed well before the afternoon, and piled her bags by the door while she went to go say goodbye to everyone. Everyone got a huge hug from her, and everyone wished her happy travels, even Jane who was mourning the loss – again – of Thor. Finally, when she could kill no more time she bounced downstairs giddily.

Clint was waiting for her downstairs, leaning against the foyer wall having a quiet conversation with Natasha. When he saw her, he pushed off the wall with an easy smile. He looked magnificent in a leather jacket and dark jeans that fit _just right_, making Darcy's mouth go dry. Ignoring Natasha leaning against the opposite wall, she pulled him down into a hungry kiss that she hoped conveyed how happy she was to see him. He looked a little dazed when they broke apart, so she turned to Natasha, who rolled her eyes. Darcy was practically vibrating with excitement, so the eye rolling was ignored.

"Here." Natasha said flatly, passing Darcy a gift bag. When she opened it, it had a cute hat, big sunglasses, and a pair of clear glasses in a different shape from Darcy's primary pair.

"Thanks!" Darcy squealed, throwing her arms around Natasha again. Natasha stiffened for a minute before relenting and patting Darcy on the back.

"The sunglasses are in your prescription." Natasha said stiffly.

"Ooooh, cool, I've never had prescription sunglasses!" Darcy exclaimed. Clint was laughing quietly behind her, and Natasha threw him a look that only made him laugh harder.

"Come on, I'm going to do your make-up for the airport, and then you may leave." Natasha said, turning smartly on her heel. Darcy followed her into a bathroom on the first floor and hopped onto the counter. Natasha ignored her excited babbling, but only told her to be quiet when she was working on her lips. When she stepped back and Darcy turned to look at herself, Darcy did a double take. Natasha had somehow made her eyes look narrower than usual, and her lips were fuller looking, and a dramatic deep red she'd never worn before. She looked her age, for once, and not like she was still a freshman. She definitely didn't look like the Darcy Lewis that the world had seen in photos and in that disastrous press conference. Natasha endured another hug before Darcy bounded out to the foyer to show Clint. He popped the hat onto her head, and they got into the cab that was waiting.

Darcy complained bitterly about having a stopover before they got on the plane that would take them to their first destination, but she shut up once she saw Paris on her second ticket. When they arrived, it was eight in the evening, so they dropped their bags off in the hotel room, shared a steamy shower, and went out to explore the nightlife. Darcy was entranced by a jazz bar they passed, so Clint paid cover and got her a drink. Later, they strolled by the Seine hand in hand. Darcy couldn't remember ever being so happy.

When they finally got back to the room Darcy surprised Clint by pushing him against the door and kissing him soundly in the hallway. He fumbled with the card key, tugging her in without breaking contact with her mouth and kicking the door closed behind him.

Darcy was unbuttoning her sweater and pulling at his clothes at the same time, making needy noises in the back of her throat that Clint answered with rough groans of his own. Finally, she got his shirt undone and shoved it off his shoulders before breaking the last button on her sweater when she yanked it off.

Clint broke contact finally, looking down at her with darkened eyes before he ripped his undershirt off. He was gentler with her top, always so careful not to hurt her and it was so sweet she could hardly bear it. She ran her hands over his chest, up around his neck, pulling him to her again. His hands were warm when they circled her waist and pulled her close.

"Up." He muttered against her lips, and she hopped straight up with his help, locking her legs around his waist. He walked them through their suite, never breaking contact with her mouth as he disposed of her bra before laying her back on the bed. The look he gave her when he pulled back made her flush. He was looking at her like she was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.

He leaned down and kissed her once, quickly, before moving down to her neck. She whimpered as he ran his tongue along her pulse point, arching with a gasp when he put his teeth to her skin.

"Harder. Harder!" She begged, and he obliged her and he brought his hand up to massage her breast. He slid lower, mouthing over the skin he found as he reached down to the snap on her jeans. She lifted her hips to help him slide them down her legs along with her underwear, and then she was naked. Clint knelt before her, kissing his way down her stomach, making her giggle, before he put his mouth to her center. The giggles stopped and the need built, making her twist and cry out. He pinned her hips to the bed with his forearm, using his other hand to enhance what his tongue was doing to her, and she saw stars before the world came undone around her.

When she could see again, Clint had taken off his jeans and was smirking at her in a very self-satisfied way. Reaching out for his hand, she pulled him onto the bed next to her. When he braced himself to lean over her, she rolled him right over her and came out on top of him, giving him a smirk of her own. She pulled the condom out of his hand and put it on him herself, loving the way his muscles twitched as he held himself still. Unable to wait any longer, she straddled him and took him inside herself, whimpering as long unused muscles were stretched around his girth.

He had his eyes closed tightly as she pulled herself off him again before dropping down and rolling her hips against him.

"Look at me." She whispered, biting her lip and shuddering. He opened his eyes, and there was a heat in them that thrilled her. She repeated the motion once more before he reared up, catching her with one arm around her behind. He flipped their position, pointing their heads towards the footboard. Darcy wrapped her legs around his waist trying to pull him into her even as he was pulling back and he crashed their mouths together, plunging his tongue past her lips at the same time that he surged forward.

Darcy wrapped her arms around his shoulders, trying to find the leverage to push back against him before she surrendered, and let him push them both past bliss.

They finally fell asleep hours later, tangled together in a heap of sweat and satisfaction.

They woke the next afternoon, and Clint had Darcy take a bath for her residual soreness while he hunted down a Parisian brunch. Darcy didn't end up leaving the room until that evening, when she dragged him to an honest to goodness speakeasy, which he tolerated with good humor. When she asked where they were going next, later that night when they were sated for the moment, Clint brushed her damp hair back from her sweaty face.

"Anywhere you want. We can stay here the whole two months, or we can move on whenever you want." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she leaned up to get a proper kiss.

"Well, you said you'd feed me 'all the food', so lets do some Paris sightseeing tomorrow and move on tomorrow evening." She decided.

They went to London, and Darcy loved the Chicken Tikka Masala and laughed at Clint's red face when he ate the Phall. They went to Ireland, and she learned a reel and ate shepherd's pie. They went back through France on a train, and ate sausage in Germany before heading down to Italy for minestrone soup. Morocco was a never-ending culinary delight so they stayed there the longest, and they finished their trip, of all places, in Mongolia. Clint said that he'd had a mission there – Darcy knew better than to ask for details – and thought she'd enjoy the nomadic lifestyle of the people he'd met there. The local hot pot was a benefit she hadn't anticipated, and the last night they were traveling she cuddled up to him in a yurt under a yak skin blanket on something that was more a pallet than a bed, glowing with the warmth coming from her stomach.

"Ready to head back to real life?" He asked, running his hand up and down her bare back.

"Mmmmmm. This has been fabulous." She looked up and gave him a lazy grin. "We're going to do this again, right?"

"Right." He swore to her.

"Then yes. As long as I know we'll do this again. I'm ready to get back to New York."

_Fin_


	13. Chapter 13

EPILOGUE

and

PROLOGUE TO 'I BELONG WITH YOU AND YOU BELONG WITH ME'

They got back to New York on Monday, a week before Darcy had to report for her first day of work. She spent the week ingratiating herself with Jarvis, hoping that the AI could help her with Stark Wrangling. Clint bounced back and forth between the helicarrier and the mansion every day. The first night he came back he was so tense Darcy shoved him facedown on the bed and rubbed his back until he finally unwound. The second night, he told her that people at S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't trust him anymore, after Loki forced him to attack the helicarrier. Darcy crawled into his lap and held him around the neck quietly until he relaxed.

Later that night after dinner, Natasha poked Clint in the waist, and when he raised an eyebrow at her, Natasha shrugged and said, "Getting soft there." Clint's outraged expression made Darcy giggle.

Clint and Natasha were up at the crack of dawn the next morning, finishing their work out just as everyone else was waking up. Clint didn't look as stressed when he left that morning as he had the morning before.

That Thursday Tony brought her with him to the Tower in the morning. Her condo was done, and he needed her to choose colors and furniture. Her rooms were on the corner of the building. Darcy was blown away after Tony opened the door with a big flourish.

There was a short wall on the left, broken by an alcove with hooks for coats and a bench. A neutral tan carpet was covering all the floors. On the right was a large empty room with two walls and a floor to ceiling window. Further into the space, Darcy found a massive bedroom. Instead of a wall along the edge of the building, there was a floor to ceiling unbroken window. Tony showed her how to make it opaque before taking her into the closet off the right side. It had a small chandelier hanging over a large space between the his and hers sides, and more drawers and shelves of all sizes than Darcy really thought she could even fill. There was an emergency elevator behind a shoe rack that would take her to the same secure location in the basement that Pepper was to go to if the Tower was attacked again.

Their last stop was the bathroom, diagonally across the room from the closet on the same side as the alcove. Like everything else, it was massive. There was a his and hers sink, gorgeous white tile on the floor, a shower stall, and a sunken tub that Darcy knew would get a lot of use. Tony was very uncomfortable when she turned and threw her arms around him, babbling her thanks. He awkwardly patted her on the back and told her to spend the day picking out colors and furniture and get back to him. After he left, Darcy walked back to the bedroom and sat down cross-legged in the middle of the floor.

"Jarvis?" She whispered. Anything louder echoed in a creepy way.

"Yes Miss Lewis?"

"Where do I start?" She begged.

The AI was silent for a long time, considering her words. "Mister Stark began work on his penthouse by asking Miss Potts' input. May I suggest a call to Agent Barton?"

Darcy whipped out her phone and dialed Clint. He was worried at first, because she was whispering, but promised to come to the Tower on his lunch break. Darcy got to her feet and started pacing through the condo. She had no idea where to start designing a home, and it was overwhelming.

When Clint got there, she was sitting in the center of the floor in the first room. He walked past her and quickly explored the space on his own, always needing to know for himself that the rooms were clear and they were safe. He came back and collapsed onto the floor in front of her.

"This is amazing." He said, sounding awed.

"I feel like I skipped a few steps." Darcy whispered to him. He looked around the room, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, to be a grown-up." She explained. "One day I was stuck in a never ending internship with just a bed in an RV and now I have this whole huge space and a serious relationship and a great job. What happened to having crappy apartments, awful first jobs and using for years before I meet a nice guy in line at the bank and settle down?"

He cocked his head to the side. "You've really thought about what a normal life is, haven't you?"

"I've been sitting here freaking out about normal for the past two hours."

He tugged her forward into a hug. "You want that normal life?"

She laid her head on his shoulder, breathing deep to catch a whiff of his aftershave. "Only if you're that nice guy in line at the bank. I don't really care about the rest of it." He laughed and held her a little tighter.

"Do you know anything about interior design?" She asked hopefully.

"Not a thing." He said cheerfully. "How about you?"

"Less than that." She said ruefully.

He stood, taking her with him.

"What do you want to use the rooms for?" He asked. Darcy looked around.

"I could see us staying here part of the week and at the mansion part of the week." She mused.

"So we'll need a kitchen." He decided. Darcy favored him with a grateful smile. It was easier, with a starting place.

"Jarvis, can we put a kitchen in this room?" She queried.

"Indeed Miss Lewis, quite easily."

Clint called and took the rest of the day off, and by six they had a good idea of what colors, flooring, and furniture they would get. Tony came downstairs and got them, and they all piled into the limo to go back to the mansion in good spirits.

The next morning, Tony dragged Darcy out of bed at seven and threw her, Pepper, and Jane into a limo. They were taken to a day spa, and Darcy had never felt so pampered in her life. They spent a full day getting massages, facials, haircuts, mani-pedis, sugar scrubs, and enjoying a fabulous lunch. Darcy imagined at the end of the day as they piled back into the car that her bones had been relaxed into jelly. When they got back, there was a little party with the team to celebrate Darcy and Jane staring at the Tower the following Monday.

The next day, of course, her muscles felt like they'd taken a beating because of her massage and the dancing she'd done at the party. When Clint rolled out of bed to go work out, she put on a bikini and followed him down to the lower levels. Climbing into the hot tub, she closed her eyes and leaned back into a particularly nice jet that was pounding between her shoulder blades. Clint joined her when he was done at the gym, and when they went back upstairs they were both in a fantastic mood.

Finally, after spending the weekend exploring Manhattan (when she and Clint could drag themselves away from their bed), it was time for Darcy's first day at work. Pepper had given her a garment bag before bed the night before with a bright smile, and when Darcy pulled the suit it held out in the morning, she couldn't hold back her grimace. It looked like it belonged on Pepper, all starched and corporate looking and knee length, but Darcy wouldn't hurt Pepper's feelings for the world so she put it on and added some black flats and carried her tablet in front of herself.

Tony and Pepper were waiting for her by the door to carpool to work, and when he saw her, he grimaced before turning to Pepper.

"You meddled, woman." He groused. Pepper looked surprised.

"I think she looks wonderful." She argued. Darcy shifted uncomfortably.

"I told her it was a jeans and t-shirt dress code. I'm not CEO anymore, there's no need for her to look like Executive Brunette Barbie." He said flatly. "She looks like a mini-you. And she's not going to be a mini-Potts, so don't try to make her one." He turned back to Darcy and nodded his head back up the stairs. "Go put on a pair of pants kid." Pepper was pouting, but Tony held firm, so Darcy raced back upstairs to change into jeans and a red turtleneck, brown heeled boots and a knitted hat. Stuffing the StarkSlate into a messenger bag as she went, she hurried down the stairs.

Darcy spent the morning familiarizing herself with Tony's lab, awkwardly making friendly with the robots, especially the one that had sprayed her with the fire extinguisher. It seemed remorseful, and Darcy warmed up to it pretty quickly, thinking it was really cute. She got a little desk in the corner to work at, and she spent some time personalizing it.

Finally, her tablet beeped after noon, and she called out, "Be ready to leave in half an hour Tony. Board meeting."

"Uh huh." He grunted as he twisted a screwdriver into a hunk of metal.

"Jarvis, could you start that countdown?" Darcy asked sweetly.

"Of course, Miss Lewis."

In the corner of the computer screen Tony was nearest, a small countdown began. Tony noticed it when he set the screwdriver down and turned to look over his schematics.

"That's distracting, Lewis. Make it go away." He commanded.

"It's supposed to be distracting Tony." She pointed out. "You're supposed to be finding a good stopping place."

Tony glanced up at her. "So here's the thing, Lewis. I'm not really going to that meeting. They're stupid meetings."

Darcy picked up the tablet and read off the note Pepper had made in the calendar notation. "Darcy: This _is_ a test. Get Tony to that meeting and you pass." She put it down and raised an eyebrow at him. He glowered at her and stubbornly returned to fiddling with his hunk of metal. Darcy rolled her eyes and waited patiently.

"Alright Tony, we gotta leave in five minutes." She sing-songed.

"Told you I'm not going." He mumbled.

"Jarvis?" Darcy asked.

"Yes Miss Lewis?"

"Do you have it ready like we practiced?"

"Indeed, Miss Lewis."

Tony hunched his shoulders, clearly set on stubbornly avoiding the board, and music started softly.

"Ooooh, ooooh." A high pitched voice crooned, with a poppy background, and Tony's hands stilled.

"You know you love me, I know you care." The Biebster sang. Darcy snickered.

"Jarvis, turn that off!" Tony snapped. Just like Darcy had asked earlier, the music got louder when Tony demanded that it stop.

"JARVIS!" Tony yelled. The music started really blasting. Darcy wondered if the floor below them could hear it.

**"And I was like baby, baby, baby, oh **

**Like baby, baby, baby, no **

**Like baby, baby, baby, oh."**

Tony wrenched the computer over in front of him, and shrieked when he was greeted with a full screen picture of Justin Bieber.

"WHAT DID YOU DO LEWIS!?" Darcy was laughing too hard to answer, bent over her knees and slapping the top of the desk.

"I CAN'T WORK LIKE THIS, WOMAN!"

Clutching her aching stomach, Darcy stood and motioned to the door. Tony stormed past her but she caught up easily, darting into the elevator with him.

"Jarvis, penthouse." Tony snapped.

The elevator started descending to the corporate level and Tony narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're good, Lewis, I'll give you that." Darcy bowed deeply, before ushering him out into Pepper's office. Pepper was ready and waiting for them, but looked shocked to see them there ahead of time. Tony's clothes were fussed with before he was led out to the meeting room. Darcy passed him a canteen before they went in, and enjoyed the surprised look on his face when he took a swig and found scotch inside.

Wiping his mouth, he grudgingly nodded to her. Darcy tucked the canteen back into her messenger bag, feeling accomplished for the first time in a long time.

Later that evening in their condo in the Tower, after they'd made love, Clint asked her about her first day on the job. Darcy propped her chin up on his bare chest and grinned at him.

"Oh, you know, same old same old. Used Tony's own AI against him. Chased him out of the lab with tweeny pop music. Played catch with a robot." Clint started laughing, and she giggled along with him.

"Highlight of the day, aside from this, of course, was my late lunch." Darcy was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. "I went down to Jane's lab to eat with her, and she just wanted to keep working so I stole her pen and stuck a carrot in her hand, and she tried to write with it for like, ten minutes before she realized nothing was getting onto the paper." Clint put his head back and laughed even harder.

"And you just sat there and watched her, didn't you?" He asked.

"I didn't _just_ sit there and watch!" Darcy protested. "I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while I watched." He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her on top of him. When they'd calmed down, he leaned up and gave her a long sweet kiss.

"I'm glad you like it here." He said. Darcy grinned like a fool at him.

"I do. I like these people. I like what you and I have." She paused, trying to gather her thoughts. "I like this solid feeling, like I'm putting down roots. Even after S.H.I.E.L.D. dragged me back in, being Jane's assistant felt temporary, but there was no way to plan for what would happen when it ended." Darcy fell silent for a minute, pillowing her chin on her hands. Clint rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"I look at Tony, and Pepper, and Bruce, and Jane, and Natasha, and _you_." She reached out and tapped a finger on the tip of his nose. "And I feel like I'm seeing the future."

Clint didn't really have the words to tell her what he felt when he looked at her. But he certainly did a good job of showing her for the next few hours.


End file.
